This summer, 85 thousand people have tested their sobriety 
within the mobile “Check Your BAL” zone

When others begin to enjoy well-deserved rest, it prepares for an intense period of hard work that is only completed when it has visited several of the biggest outdoor events in Poland and covered a few thousand kilometres. Kompania Piwowarska’s mobile “Check Your BAL” zone, which has been promoting responsible consumption of alcohol for four years, just finished its tour across the country. This summer, it set a personal record of completed sobriety tests amounting to 85 thousand!

For many drivers occasional sobriety checks are mandatory but, as they admit, they are never too enthusiastic about it. The situation is completely different in the “Check Your BAL” zone, which is proven by the fact that for the fourth season in a row drivers gladly stand in line to test their blood alcohol level. And you do not even need to have a driving license to take a professional breathalyser test – all you need to do is to take part in one of the events visited by the zone on its annual tour. This year, it appeared at 13 of the biggest summer outdoor festivals and mass events, including Pol’and’Rock Festival, Audioriver, Tyskie Beerfest, Air Show in Radom and Roztańczony Narodowy.

As the name indicates, “Check Your BAL” allows the visitors to test their sobriety with the use of a professional breathalyser test, similar to the one used by the Police. Over the last season, the participants of mass events have taken advantage of that possibility over 85 thousand times.

– The festivals and mass events we have visited attract participants from across Poland. Many of them come by car and want to drive back home safely. We help them by offering a possibility of checking their sobriety before they start driving – says Małgorzata Walędzińska-Półtorak, Sustainable Development Programme Manager at Kompania Piwowarska.

Visiting the “Check Your BAL” zone also gives a chance to learn interesting facts about how alcohol influences our bodies and even experience quite extraordinary things – without a drop of alcohol! The trick is possible thanks to special glasses, called alco-goggles, that change our perception the same way alcohol does. Equipped with the goggles, the guest can face a reflex meter or a labyrinth. While trying to complete simple tasks, they realize that even a small amount of alcohol can complicate seemingly trivial activities, not to mention demanding jobs like driving a car. This summer saw 40 thousand people wearing our alco-goggles.

The “Check Your BAL” mobile zone was launched four years ago. Since then, it has visited 42 mass events during which 230 thousand people took breathalyser tests to check whether they could drive, and 70 thousand people took part in the specially prepared animations.

At events with the greatest interest in sobriety checks, such as the Pol’and’Rock Festival that gathers hundreds of thousands of people every year, Kompania Piwowarska tries to join forces with partners. During that festival, breathalyser tests are conducted with the help of the Police.

What’s worth mentioning is the fact that Kompania Piwowarska implements the idea of responsible alcohol consumption not only within its mobile zone, but also among people selling beer. Before every event, the company organizes trainings in terms of responsible alcohol sales for people working at beer tap stands – this year such training was completed by 557 sales people.