Metro police chief David Tembe said he almost had a heart attack when he first saw the adverts for the bar.
“I called all my media contacts and said, ‘Meet me there, there’s going to be a big fight, we’re closing down the bar’,” he said.
Louw explained: “After 20 years of campaigns and initiatives aimed at changing South Africans’ drinking behaviour, especially during the festive season, very little has changed. We continue to see irresponsible drinking and driving or walking being perpetuated, with little to no regard for consequence.”
She added: “What became apparent is that we needed to find a way to communicate the message, ‘Don’t drink and drive or walk,’ in a compelling way. We also recognised that we had to engage two audiences, those who drink and drive as well as those who drink and walk home as over 40% of road fatalities involve pedestrians.”
The campaign officially launched on Wednesday afternoon, but by Tuesday evening social media was buzzing with different opinions about the bar.
One resident went onto social media, inviting his friends for a drink.
“It’s right near my house, you can park here and we can go for a bit,” he said.
Arrive Alive even took to Twitter to express their outrage. “Nobody should Drink and Drive – it is that simple!! We are aware in tweets of a ‘Drive Through Bar’ – and disappointed in messaging that the Driver can ‘have one for the road! 🙁 We will not share further messages that could add to the marketing of such a place! #dontdrinkanddrive.”