“Real roads don’t reset” is the core idea of a road safety campaign by the Scottish Government, delivered with Road Safety Scotland: driving under the influence is a dangerous game, but real life has no extra lives. The campaign uses gaming language and visuals to land a simple point, decisions on real roads have real consequences for you, your passengers, and everyone else sharing the road.

A big reason it targets young drivers is risk and inexperience. Drivers aged 17 to 25 are more likely to be in collisions, and the toolkit notes that around one in five newly qualified drivers are involved in a collision within their first year. It also points out that young male drivers are the highest risk group and are often over-confident, with risky behaviour becoming normalised quickly after passing the test.

The drink and drug driving message is blunt and practical. Even one drink can slow reactions, blur vision, and affect judgement, and Scotland’s legal drink drive limit is 50mg per 100ml of blood (22mg per 100ml of breath). The “best approach” is none if you are driving, plan ahead (taxi, public transport, or stay overnight), and remember that only time removes alcohol from your system, coffee and fresh air will not help. The toolkit also underlines that alcohol can still be in your system the next day, and that drugs can remain detectable for hours or even days.

Find more from Road Safety Scotland (Scotland, 2025)