These Brilliant Bar Coasters Make A Powerful Impression On Patrons Driving Home

Nobody, regardless of how much they drink, is unaware of the dangers of drunk driving. We’ve been taught and reminded since grade school that getting behind the wheel after drinking doesn’t just put you at risk, but it puts those around you who had no say in your reckless decision at risk as well.

Nonetheless, many tend to put instinct and good judgment aside when drinking—be it for convenience, lack of consideration, or just the absence of common sense. Statistics show us that drunk driving still plagues our roads, which means more reminders are in order.

Rather than stick with the usual tactics, which are typically just signs placed in and around an establishment, one group is using a more novel and resonant approach to getting the message across to patrons. ArriveAlive.org, a group advocating safe driving practices, has partnered with ad agency Rethink Canada to create coasters that are actually made from cars involved in drunk driving accidents.

The result is an interesting, useful, and unique object that will spark conversation and force people—no matter how impaired—to ponder their options in a profoundly new way.

Fittingly, they rolled out the coasters on St. Patrick’s Day at a bar called The Emmet Ray near Toronto.

The coasters read, “This coaster used to be a car. That car never made it home.”

They come in an array of colors, all from the fallout of a drunk driver failing to use better judgment.

Hopefully, this idea gains traction and puts a new spin on a familiar lesson, because as long as the materials for these coasters exist, it’s clear there’s still some education to be done.