La Spezia: free alcohol tests are back in the center thanks to the Red Cross project supported by SNA and the Municipality.

Starting again this year “Saturday night live”, the road safety education project of the Red Cross of La Spezia now in its fifth edition, with the support of the National Union of Insurance Agents (Sna) and this year also of the Municipality of La Spezia.

The project, which aims to raise awareness among young people from La Spezia about safe behavior before driving, avoiding the abuse of alcoholic substances, was presented this morning by the Mayor Pierluigi Peracchini, the Councilor for Safety and the Local Police Giulio Guerri, by the Project Manager for SNA Tiziano Salerno and by the Youth of the La Spezia Red Cross Matilde Martinelli.

Like every year, during the nightlife evenings in the city centre, thanks to the commitment of 60 young people from the La Spezia Red Cross, young people will be asked to undergo a free alcohol test, try to carry out a test on their readiness of reflexes and answer a question series of questionnaires on the risks of drinking alcohol before driving, to assess their level of awareness on the topic of road safety.

For the 2024 edition, a new feature has also been introduced, that of “competitive quiz”, with competitors who will have the opportunity to book first, using two Bluetooth buttons, to answer questions on road safety and forms of addiction, specially reproduced on a screen as in a television quiz, and win some gadgets up for grabs.

The screenings (anonymous and free) organized by the CRI Youth will begin on the weekend of 16-17 March and will continue constantly throughout the summer, for a total of ten evenings. During the latest edition of “Saturday night live”, out of a total of more than 1.200 alcohol tests carried out, in one case out of four, those with a blood alcohol level higher than the legal limit for driving a vehicle declared that they would have driven anyway, with all the risks involved for themselves and others.

The project, launched in 2020 for the first time at a national level by the La Spezia Red Cross, achieved considerable success, so much so that it was also replicated in Florence, Milano and Brescia.

The mayor of La Spezia Pierluigi Peracchini He declares: “The municipal administration strongly supports this initiative promoted by the La Spezia Red Cross, which aims to actively raise awareness among boys and girls of the risks deriving from the abuse of alcoholic substances. Promoting safe enjoyment is a priority, especially considering that alcohol use among young people is an increasingly widespread social problem. All institutions must collaborate synergistically to contain this phenomenon and promote prevention also by supporting initiatives like this. I thank President De Angelis and the young volunteers for their continuous commitment to this initiative, which every year brings significant results worthy of reflection".

“Road safety is one of the objectives that are extremely important to us – declares the Councilor for Security and Social Policies Giulio Guerri – the commitment on this front is a fundamental part of the work we are carrying out to guarantee safety through the daily work of the Local Police who are also on the front line in important prevention and education activities."

“The commitment of the Red Cross continues as every year to raise awareness among young people from La Spezia on the importance of road safety – added the president of the La Spezia Red Cross Luigi De Angelis – Thanks to the support of the National Union of Insurance Agents and the municipal administration, we are once again making the children of La Spezia responsible with an activity that is not intended to be repressive, but on the contrary an approach and conviction "on par", between children of the same age. The results we achieved in previous editions, in terms of numbers and interest aroused among the kids, give us hope for the success of this fifth edition too."

“Our commitment continues – commented Emiliano Ortelli, head of the Saturday Night Live national commission for the national agents union - in supporting 'Saturday Night Live', because we feel a duty, as professional insurance advisors, to promote more informed driving among young people. The project represents a fundamental initiative to raise awareness among new generations of the importance of road safety and the consequences resulting from the abuse of alcoholic substances. We are in fact convinced that initiatives like these can contribute to making the roads safer for everyone, aware that an advanced society like ours has the task of drastically reducing, if not eliminating, the accidents which cause over 3.000 road deaths every year. Italian roads".

“As has happened in recent years – announced Tiziano Salerno, Sna national manager for Saturday night live – this year too we will see something new in La Spezia which will have the aim of further involving and informing young people while making them have fun; it has been the key to the success of past editions and we intend to maintain this course. La Spezia, from 2024, will represent a continuously evolving laboratory, which will allow us

to test the innovations and improvements of the project year after year, so as to propose them again on the rest of the national territory where we have already successfully carried out numerous tests".