The three road safety videos we present in this blog post focuses on speeding and dangerous driving; and while some of them are quite dated, they could still act as stark reminders for those who do not practice safe driving.
Despite it sounding repetitive to continuously warn against speeding or aggressive driving, we are reminded that both behaviours still have a huge impact on the number of people injured on the roads; so this once again affords us the opportunity to point out that safety has to be the priority, always.
Let’s have a look at these campaigns!
#1 - UK—THINK!—Kill your speed
In this older commercial created by the UK’s Department of Transport, we see a car travelling just above the speed limit and braking, but even at this speed the car does not have enough reaction time and space to stop in the time available and eventually hits a pedestrian—making the point that at just 5 mph over the 30 limit, it takes a further 21 feet to stop.
#2 - France—Securite Routiere—Il n'y a pas de petite infraction en voiture (There are no small transgressions when it comes to driving)
The video focuses on how the words “just a little” or “just a small” do not fit in with the concept of road safety. In the video, they actually clash with what is happening on screen:
“Vous roulez juste un peu trop vite”—You drive just a little too fast (when the car is travelling at 90 km/h and speed is increasing)
“Vous lisez juste un petit message”—You just read that small text message (a slight distraction)
“Vous tournez juste sans clignotant”—You just turn without using the signals
The final result is “Vous l’avez juste un peu tue”—“You just killed him a little bit”.
The video ends up explaining that on the road, there are no small violations—sur la route, il n’y a pas de petite infraction.
#3 - Spain —Dirección General de Tráfico—Campaign against drugs and alcohol behind the wheel
This video presents the side effects of drink and drugs driving as if it were a commercial advert for a vehicle promoting all the added features: “Euphoria, aggressiveness, impulsiveness, altered perception, dizzyness, distraction—drugs and alcohol add these features to your vehicle as they impact on its most important part: your brain. Don’t drive under their influence.”
