The Smart Start Preloading Project funded by the National Drug Strategy Law Enforcement Funding Committee conducted it final tests in February after collecting more than 3200 breath samples from people as they entered entertainment precincts in the City, Fortitude Valley, Mackay, Gold Coast and Doomben Races over the past six months.
The project engagement was so successful that police have applied for funding to continue the program with fresh focus on the end of the night before people go home. Police and researchers plan to conduct complimentary surveys and breath test people as they go home to add to the information they have gathered and provide a positive presence in hot spots where front line police can talk to people as they wait for a taxi or head to the train station.
The results from the surveys and the breath tests have raised some questions about what happens next and how people continue to drink throughout the night.
The results of the preloading engagement will be presented at this months Australasian Drug and Alcohol Strategy Conference at Southbank. Some interesting response trends from the raw data are already highlighting factors that may be important in addressing personal safety and helping guide strategy. For example 34% of people surveyed said they had gone home with a complete stranger and around 50% of people said they had nights when they had experienced periods of black out.
Police were pleasantly surprised how receptive people were and how positive the conversations have been, with people often lining up to participate, complete a survey and guessing what their breath alcohol reading might be.