DRINK-driving is getting worse. April this year was the worst month for drink-driving offences in five years. Alcohol is a contributory factor in 38pc of all fatal crashes. This is a real crisis. All over the country, we're asking ourselves, "How did this happen? How did this become normal?"
Societal norms change rapidly, and it's sometimes hard to see how quickly we've changed. Look at smoking in workplaces, or paying for plastic bags. A lot of us wondered how such changes would go down, but almost immediately, it seemed, everyone got on board.
But what makes a norm? And why has the norm surrounding drink-driving not changed more rapidly? How is it that some people will still take a chance and get behind the wheel after taking a drink?
Let's look at a different kind of Norm. Specifically Norm from the '80s TV show Cheers. The term: 'designated driver' didn't spontaneously arrive in the cultural lexicon. Rather, it was consciously placed in culture, in large part due to the work of Jay A. Winsten, a Harvard professor working in the area of public health.
Source: The Irish Independent, 28/06/17
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