Our new ad campaign aims to reframe the way people look at their speed when they’re driving.
Last year 83 people were killed and 408 were seriously injured in speed-related crashes on New Zealand roads. Most Kiwis recognise the risks of driving at speed and support police enforcement of the speed limit to keep everyone safe.
The Transport Agency’s new campaign, Mistakes, targets competent drivers who drive ‘comfortably’ fast; typically a bit faster than the posted speed limit or other traffic. But they don’t consider it to be wrong or anti-social because it’s not really ‘speeding’ in their minds. They feel competent and in control of their vehicle.
Previous advertising campaigns have shown that the faster you go the less time you have to react, the longer it takes to stop and the bigger the mess when you do stop. But some people still deny this truth or think it doesn’t apply to them. Their speed may be over the limit but to them it is minimal, e.g. 107 km/h in a 100 km/h area. In their minds they’re not actually ‘speeding’, but driving comfortably, and they feel in control.
This campaign aims to reframe the way that people look at their speed when they’re driving.
It demonstrates that while a person may be a good driver they can’t change the fact that human beings are prone to making mistakes, including other drivers. In many aspects of life we can learn from our mistakes; but not when driving - the road is an exception. Even the smallest of mistakes on the road can cost us our life, or take someone else’s.
