Three social media videos – published as part of a campaign to highlight how the mobile phone obsession is putting all road users in danger – have been viewed more than 1.3 million times.
The London Road Safety Council social media campaign – titled Heads Up, Phones Down! – ran across fourteen boroughs* and targeted motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and commuters.
The campaign comprised three new social media films, showing how everyday folk can allow their phone fixation to lead them into disaster on London’s roads – whether they are walking, cycling, driving or motorcycling.
The videos follow the journeys of typical Londoners and shows how being absorbed in distracting on-line conversations and internet surfing causes them to come a cropper.
The three videos have been well received by viewers – attracting more than 1.3million views.
Research shows that using a mobile phone while driving multiplies a person’s risk of a serious crash by four times. Meanwhile, one in seven pedestrians admit to being so engrossed with their smartphones that they step onto a busy road without looking.
Launching the campaign in November, cllr Teji Barnes, chair of the LRSC, said: “There has been a lot of attention given to the dangers of using a phone while driving, and our campaign not only highlights this issue, but also the need for all road users to keep their heads up and their phone down if they are to stay safe.
“We have all seen people stepping into the road while looking at their phone, it has become a really big issue.”
*The campaign was supported by the London boroughs of Brent, Croydon, Ealing, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Newham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Wandsworth, Waltham Forest, the City of Westminster and the Corporation of London.
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