Peter Brock. Photo / Supplied
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The son of late motor racing legend Peter Brock is echoing his father's calls to cut the carnage caused by drink-driving.
Peter Brock was a pioneering campaigner for lowering the drink-driving limit in some Australian states from 80mg to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
His son, race driver
and engineer James Brock, is taking that stand even further. He is getting behind the Herald on Sunday's Two Drinks Max campaign with a commitment never to get behind the wheel after a drink.
"I'd be happy with a zero limit," he says. "As far as I'm concerned, if you're thinking of drinking then you should have no thought of driving. It could be $60 for a taxi, but that's nothing in comparison with someone's life."
By 7pm yesterday, 2500 people had signed up to the pledge not to have more than two standard drinks before driving.
Peter Brock was a dominant force in Australian motor racing in the 1970s and 1980s, winning Bathurst a record nine times. He adopted the number "05" in the mid-1970s to show his support for a drink-drive limit of 50mg.
It appeared on every car he raced from then until he crashed and died during the final stage of the Targa West rally in 2006.
That sense of commitment and social responsibility stuck with James.
It has compelled him to keep high standards on drink-driving in his own racing career.
"I grew up with the guy [Peter]. He tried to pass on those values to us. In the end, this stance comes naturally because you've been around it all your life. It's about not putting yourself or anyone else in harm's way."
James' zero-tolerance approach to drinking before driving comes partly from seeing the damage it can do.
"I've had people I know die in crashes caused by drink-driving.
"It's really fairly simple. Don't take anything and drive. It's just not worth it, full stop."
Getting that message across comes down to education as much as legislation, he says.
He wants new drivers to get mandatory lessons on the harm they can cause to themselves and others by drinking and driving.
"As a race-car driver, you understand what it takes to drive at a personal level. We train for everything to the nth degree, but we're happy to put our young people in cars with no idea of the harm they can cause."
If they knew the damage they could do they wouldn't take the chance.
