Road Safety Ads - Going too far?

MizzLolly

Hey!!

I seen an ad just there from the Road Safety Authority, it really disturbed me! Bloody hell!!! The one where the guy gets smashed up against his girlfriend and she's trapped under his dead body and she's just screaming..

Very effective, delivers a vital message but does anybody think that maybe it goes a little too far??

Maybe I'm just feelin' tired and emotional but that ad made my eyes tear up!!!

Anybody any views on them?

Cool_CM

Haven't seen it, but quite frankly that is the point. Not sure if they have much effect on people who will speed/drink and drive anyway, the only way to sort it out is tougher penalties and actually enforcing them. My friend said his dad who works with one of the insurance companies has a video with the uncut ones. If they really want to shock they should put those on tv

truecrippler

I get off on these sort of ad's. Keep them. :cool:

Cool_CM

truecrippler wrote: »

I get off on these sort of ad's. Keep them. :cool:

Each to his own I suppose, in that case you should try this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_(1996_film)
it'll really get your motor running....

truecrippler

It tells the story of a group of people who take sexual pleasure from car accidents.

Jahsus, there's people like that? :P

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

there's six and a half billion of us, there's bound to be thousands.

monkeyfudge

Holly Hunter was hot in that movie...

I saw the advert in question earlier this evening... it certainly is pretty hardcore... but I don't see how they work as the people it's aimed at all think they are brilliant drivers and don't think they'll ever crash.

MizzLolly

Maybe it's just bugging me subconsciously because somebody my age who I knew a few years back was killed recently in an awful crash. I know they need to get the message out but I just wonder if it's nescessary to go that far.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they shouldn't be there, I'm just wondering how other people feel about them?!

I mean, how do these ads effect people who've lost somebody close to them the same way? I can't imagine. Or even when a child sees them? Not all kids are in bed by 8.00 and of course there'll be a few out there who'll be upset by this ad. It's probably one of the worst I've seen so far. God, it's horrible.

Cool_CM

Sounds a bit morbid but does anybody have a link yet? and no, it's not for my own sexual gratification!

Rabies

Road safety adverts over here are very good.
Staright to the point and no holes barred.
Gets the message across.

It is needed in this country, NZ has a strong drink driving culture and boy racers are a pain in Auckland city.
But a least the boy racers drive proper cars over here

Dudess

Aren't road death numbers at an all time high now?

The new ads featuring people (not actors) talking about loved ones who were killed are even more powerful than the gruesome ones (IMO).

Rabies

NZ's domestic violence and alcohol abuse ads are very strong too.

It is the only good thing the TV networks get right over here. The rest of the viewing experience is terrible in this country.

RedXIV

they send a better message than some of the other countries attempts to discourage dangerous driving.

When i was stateside for a holiday one of them was a picture of a car, in perfect nick and then a black screen with the words "speed kills" or similar popped up. wasn't exactly what you'd call effective

Sangre

Dudess wrote: »

Aren't road death numbers at an all time high now?

well, that is only significant if car numbers and numbers of hours clocked on roads isn't also at an all time high.

congo_90

I'm a 17 year old lad who is driving. And the first time i saw that add it FREAKED THE HELL OUTTA ME!!! that add has been running over a year i think the RSA got it right because its certainly effective. I can imagine being the driver or the guy at the wall. i don't wanna be either.

+1 to the RSA

congo_90

found it

the horrible vid itself

Ciaran500

Thats not a new one.

Can't say I've ever been affected in the slightest by one of these ads, in my mind its just TV so I see no reailty in it.

Sherifu

The ones in Australia with the girls wiggling their finger were supposed to be very effective. I always felt the Irish ones were crap.

kevmy

MizzLolly wrote: »

Maybe it's just bugging me subconsciously because somebody my age who I knew a few years back was killed recently in an awful crash. I know they need to get the message out but I just wonder if it's nescessary to go that far.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they shouldn't be there, I'm just wondering how other people feel about them?!

I mean, how do these ads effect people who've lost somebody close to them the same way? I can't imagine. Or even when a child sees them? Not all kids are in bed by 8.00 and of course there'll be a few out there who'll be upset by this ad. It's probably one of the worst I've seen so far. God, it's horrible.

Don't find them that shocking or gruesome. I think you need a range of ads as different people are affected by different types of things. I reckon they should go a lot further and show actual footage taken at scenes of accidents to L Cert kids. A lot of the people who drive stupidly are just that stupid and you need to beat the over the head with things.

Dudess wrote: »

Aren't road death numbers at an all time high now?

The new ads featuring people (not actors) talking about loved ones who were killed are even more powerful than the gruesome ones (IMO).

No road deaths are down considerably from the height in the late 90's/early 00's. IIRC there was ~425 killed one year atm it's down to ~360 a year which is a significant drop. In terms of deaths per capita or deaths per cars on the road it's down even further.

BKtje

Isn't Ireland now up to 9th in lowest number of deaths per capita (from 16th). Thought i read that recently.

axer

kevmy wrote: »

Don't find them that shocking or gruesome. I think you need a range of ads as different people are affected by different types of things. I reckon they should go a lot further and show actual footage taken at scenes of accidents to L Cert kids. A lot of the people who drive stupidly are just that stupid and you need to beat the over the head with things.

I agree, people are used to seeing the likes of that in films and tv shows. In fact they are used to seeing worse. The government need to focus on educating those still in school. It would be a good idea to show them real footage and then maybe the family afterwards - things like that to show them the reality of accidents.

PeakOutput

the ads are affective and they target a wide variety of different risk categories(boy racers drink drivers etc) they shouldnt be the only tactic tho

Dudess

kevmy wrote: »

No road deaths are down considerably from the height in the late 90's/early 00's. IIRC there was ~425 killed one year atm it's down to ~360 a year which is a significant drop. In terms of deaths per capita or deaths per cars on the road it's down even further.

Sorry, my mistake.

Australia has great ads. Ones against women beaters have Chopper explaining how they'll get treated in prison. Think they had one for drink driving too.

I think the most effective one of the RSA ads was the one where the guy's car crashed through a fence and killed a little boy. The look in his eyes afterwards has always sent shivers down my spine.

This (American?) one is pretty effective I think.

Mossy Monk

The ads have never affected me either. They need to teach young people to drive when they are 16/17

cooperguy

I dont think they go too far they should have gruesome ads on. However there is a problem with this and that is that it is unrealistic. That would NEVER happen. Under those conditions that car would not be able to do that flippy trough the air thing.

Unfortunatly the boy racers out there no that too and they dismiss the ad as a load of crap which defeats the purpose.

Sanjuro

I'm going to disagree. I think these ads don't work at all. They go for the idea of shock tactics, and when you watch the ad, they do shock. For the thirty+ seconds they're on. After that, they have no effect. At the end of the day, you know they're actors and special effects. A much more effective campaign is one that's based in reality. The interviews with victims' relatives is more effective, but it's still not enough. The right campaign hasn't been found yet. Road deaths and speed are not being reduced.

Reku

I've only ever thought along the lines of:
"God, will she ever shut up and stop overacting it, that level of damage and the body would go into shock yet here she's supposed to be still screaming full blast when the ambulence finally arrives on scene"
when seeing that add. I know they like her to scream her lungs out in the hope of the shock value, but at the same time they kinda weakened the advert as a result IMO.

Previous ads have suffered from things like terrible lines:
"It was the guy without the seatbelt who did the damage"
yeah, they're going to radio that one in, sure...

Or terrible choices of soundtrack, wasn't there one with "Do that to me one more time", I mean seriously, what were they thinking!?!

stovelid

I just change channels because gory, accident porn ads have got boring.

And why do they have the same type bland 'poignant' tune in the background?

Toto Wolfcastle

I've never been able to watch any ads involving car crashes. They freak me out. When I was younger I used to leave the room when the ad with the red car knocking down the little girl who was going to school. It had 'What a wonderful world' playing in the background and everytime I hear that song I can see that girl lying on the ground.

Kooli

I don't think these ads work, because I just don't believe shock tactics EVER work. We feel like they work, because we are shocked by them.
That is what they succeed at - shocking people.
Shock tactics by their very nature present us with the worst-case scenarios, so we don't relate to them, they are just too unlikely.

But who actually changes their driving habits? EVERYONE thinks the ad is aimed at 'other people'. No one believes they themselves are at risk of causing such a ridiculous accident.

The one I thought was most effective was from years ago, and showed the different effects on a child that is hit by a car driving at 30mph vs 40mph vs 50mph. The reason that works, I believe, is cos it is saying ANYONE could hit a child because they can run out on the road and you won't have time to stop. But what matters is, if you are driving at the speed limit or under, then you will hopefully not kill the child, and the guilt won't be AS bad, because it was unavoidable. However if you are speeding and the child dies, then it is TOTALLY your fault. The ad of course didn't say all this, but that's the message I took from it, and that's why I try not to speed - basically the unexpected WILL happen, so you wanna make sure that afterwards you can say to yourself that you didn't do anything wrong.

Canis Lupus

No one changes until 'it' happens to them.

Even then some people won't learn. My brother has crashed........ 3 times through his own stupidity and still drives like an utter tit. No amount of telling him so or the crashes has affected his thinking and he's past 30 at this stage...

Tellox

First time I saw the child getting milled in the back garden while playing soccer I was a bit shocked.

When I first saw the mobile phone one, I cracked up laughing. Dont know why, but found it hilarious. Still laugh whenever I see it.

The one OP is referring to, cant help but laugh at that one either.
First off, the driver has a completely open road - checks if its safe, moves out to overtake. Shows he's redlining his car - for all we know, he could be redlining at 25mph in 1st gear.

Dog runs out under the driver - anyone else would just run over the dog. At least I would. Instead, he turns straight into the other driver - and the crash defies the laws of physics. After the initial launch, I was expecting the car to continue ignoring gravity and spin off into space.

But yeah, if they cut down on the amount of deaths on the road, shur why not.

razorblunt

The ads with the relatatives of the deceased are far more effctive IMO.

Overheal

MizzLolly wrote: »

Hey!!

I seen an ad just there from the Road Safety Authority, it really disturbed me! Bloody hell!!! The one where the guy gets smashed up against his girlfriend and she's trapped under his dead body and she's just screaming..

Very effective, delivers a vital message but does anybody think that maybe it goes a little too far??

Maybe I'm just feelin' tired and emotional but that ad made my eyes tear up!!!

Anybody any views on them?

I'd like to seem them in the States tbh. But per capita its still a much bigger problem here. I think the ads are here to stay.

leninbenjamin

Kooli wrote: »

I don't think these ads work, because I just don't believe shock tactics EVER work.

as far as i know (i vaguely remember watching a news piece from the BBC on this years ago) the shock tactic ads originated in Australia and the only reason they spread around the globe was because studies there showed they WERE effective.

emphasis on were though, because i don't think there's been much study into the desensitisation effects these ads can bring about. that's part of the problem, each ad has to have a bigger 'shock' than the previous ad. they need to find a new tactic now, i found the first few hard to watch when i was younger but now it's just meh...

Bard

stovelid wrote: »

I just change channels because gory, accident porn ads have got boring.

What the hell has porn got to do with it?

For the record, I don't think the ad in question goes 'too far'. It's been around a while and it's shown after the watershed. If it goes any way towards reducing deaths on the roads, it's doing its job. There are too many sh*te drivers out there...