THINK! has relaunched a campaign which urges young, male drivers to think about the dangers of driving too fast for road conditions – especially on rural roads.
Data shows that speed kills and injures 58 young people every week. But despite this, THINK! research highlights that only 32% of young men consider it very risky.
THINK! has relaunched its ‘Is pushing it worth it?’ campaign to raise awareness of the impact that not driving at the correct speed for the conditions, or slight speeding on rural roads can have.
The campaign speaks to male drivers aged 17-24, as they are over-represented in speed-related deaths and injuries. Campaign creative highlights the consequences of driving too fast for the conditions, and champions those who respect the road and get there safely.
The campaign encourages the target audience to reflect on their own driving and to reappraise the consequences of what they currently perceive to be safe speeds.
It will run across video on demand, digital audio, online video and social media until mid-March.
All assets signpost to the THINK! website, where young drivers can find more information on speeding and rural roads. Road safety professionals can also download the campaign assets – and stakeholder toolkit – from the THINK! website.
You’re preaching to the converted Nigel – defensive driving is the key to avoiding collisions and if more people did it there would hardly be any collisions. Problem is, too many people dont know what it is, how to do it or have any inclination to drive that way in the first place. I understand the police are trained to drive ‘progressively’ and not necessarily defensively hence the incidences I mentioned earlier.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
0
Well, Hugh, and others, which ever way it runs it all comes back to Montague’s comment written in 1906, ‘that it is your job, not the other man’s to avoid danger’. So, regardless if, for example without a centreline (where the road could be down to a single track road with passing places), and there are bends with high hedges and short view, get the speed down in anticipation of the idiot coming to fast the other way. There is a lot of it around. It should not need a campaign. HC 126 will do well enough.
Nigel+ALBRIGHT
0
With the Think campaigns it would be very useful to have the evaluation of effectiveness and reach, using different media to act as case studies. Given the push for evaluation and the comparative spend on these campaigns it would be useful to see gold standard evalaution. Apologies if it is already out there – but I can’t find!
Also it would be useful for Think assets to be free for use by LAs – plus longer time scale of notice as to detail of campaign so we might be able to use free assets available to us to amplify message.
Keith Baldock, Brighton
0
Not sure it’s relevant Nigel as the potential consequences would have been the same anyway, but from memory, it was both i.e. beat officers and traffic officer(s). Some were beter than others let’s say.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
0
Hugh, you wrote, ‘..being driven by (different) police officers along narrow country lanes..’ but what were they in police driving terms. If they had not done any driving courses then that’s one category. If they were Traffic or instructors, then that should be a totally different story.
Nigel+ALBRIGHT
0
Following Nigel’s comment about it being endemic, many years ago when I was working in this field, on two or three occasions I was being driven by (different) police officers along narrow country lanes and was horrified at the speed they were approaching and going around these bends with absolutely no chance of stopping for a vehicle coming the other way! What is it about country lanes that induces this behaviour?
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
+1
I agree with Nigel’s opinion that the lack of knowledge of the correct speed to safely country lanes is endemic. Could it have anything to do with learners, even if they live in a rural area, spending far too much time driving around test routes? I believe that they are not being equipped with the right skill set when being taught and are left to fend for themselves when their test has been passed.
David Daw, Bury St Edmunds
0
i live in Somerset. Am constantly in country lanes and the major issue all round is drivers going too fast Period. You have to be critically aware of meeting them. It seems to me that THINK! does a lot of its thinking from behind a desk. And the intellectual stuff has no bearing when you meet a driver who might have to lock up his or here wheels in front of you. Young or old ahead of you, just be suitably slow and cautious for your own good.
Nigel+ALBRIGHT
+1
It’s not just ‘young male’ drivers. It is endemic.
Nigel+ALBRIGHT
+5
Really? For me the video trivialises the impact of a crash by comparing it to trying to stack a higher and higher set of cans, which is disappointing when it crashes, but hardly catastrophic. Also how about the devastating impact of the crash on other innocent people that you hit?
Brenda Puech, London
+2