Road safety ads on TV....over the top or what?

Roger_007

I've noticed over the last few months that almost every ad break on TV, (including all Sky channels), contains a road safety ad from the Road Safety Authority.
Now, I have no objection to the occasional reminder about road safety but I think that the type of saturation advertising is a bit over the top, particularly as the ads are designed to be upsetting. Sometimes they have two ads in the same ad break.
I was watching golf for a couple of hours on Sky last weekend and just for the hell of it I decided to count the number of road safety ads by the RSA. It came to 11 in the space of two hours.
I don't know what the RSA advertising budget is, but it must be colossal.
Do we really need that amount of reminding?

exaisle

Roger_007 wrote: »

I've noticed over the last few months that almost every ad break on TV, (including all Sky channels), contains a road safety ad from the Road Safety Authority.
Now, I have no objection to the occasional reminder about road safety but I think that the type of saturation advertising is a bit over the top, particularly as the ads are designed to be upsetting. Sometimes they have two ads in the same ad break.
I was watching golf for a couple of hours on Sky last weekend and just for the hell of it I decided to count the number of road safety ads by the RSA. It came to 11 in the space of two hours.
I don't know what the RSA advertising budget is, but it must be colossal.
Do we really need that amount of reminding?

Who cares if it has the desired effect..

mordeith

Roger_007 wrote: »

Do we really need that amount of reminding?

Ah no, sure when is the last time you heard of a fatal road accident?

SmartinMartin

2 hours of golf? I'd prefer to watch the feckin ads.

branie2

As long as it gets the message across

RichT

This is last years figures, so apparently yes we do need that amount of reminding.

"Deaths on Irish roads 2016

In the period January - December 2016* there were 174 fatal collisions resulting in 186 fatalities on Irish roads. This represents 19 (+12%) more collisions and 24 (15%) more deaths compared to provisional Garda data for the same period in 2015*.

Of the 186 fatalities, there were 81 Drivers killed, 38 Passengers, 35 Pedestrians, 22 Motorcyclists and 10 Pedal Cyclists.
The highest number of fatalities on our roads were among those aged 16-25 (40) and 66+ (44).
138 of those killed were male (74%).
Almost 1 in 4 of the drivers and passengers killed were not wearing a seatbelt (23%).
Thursday (32) and Sunday (37) were the most dangerous days on Irish roads in 2016.
The highest number of fatalities in 2016 occurred between 4pm and 6pm (28) and 10pm and 12am (20).
In 2016, Dublin (21) and Cork (21) had the highest record of road fatalities. Carlow had no road fatalities."

rossie1977

I don't believe there is enough being done or enough money spent trying to educate people on safety, rules of the road and the dangers involved.

Terrorism has wall to wall coverage in Europe and the us and billions spent in an attempt to combat it. 3,043 Americans were killed by acts of terrorism on us soil between 2001 and 2014 (includes 9/11). By contrast over 500,000 have been killed on us roads over the same period

In Europe it's a similar story. 142 killed in terrorism incidents in the EU in 2016, 148 in 2015 yet road deaths in the EU equalled 25,500 last year and 26,000 the year before.

More people were killed on Irish roads in 2014-16 than were killed across the EU due to terrorism.

Roger_007

exaisle wrote: »

Who cares if it has the desired effect..

Is it having the desired effect? Has there been a noticeable reduction in fatal accidents since they started this present campaign of saturation advertising?

diomed

The Road Safety Authority was founded in 2006.

Road deaths
2006 365
2007 338
2008 279
2009 238
2010 212
2011 186
2012 161
2013 190
2014 197
2015 165
2016 188
2017 130 ytd

stimpson

diomed wrote: »

The Road Safety Authority was founded in 2006.

Road deaths
2006 365
2007 338
2008 279
2009 238
2010 212
2011 186
2012 161
2013 190
2014 197
2015 165
2016 188
2017 130 ytd

There is a high correlation between the amount of motorways opened and the drop in road deaths as head on collisions are by far the highest cause of death on the roads. We should spend more money on motorways and less on the RSA.

Rubberchikken

Of course Irish drivets need reminding. Only thing is the message just isn't getting through.

diomed

stimpson wrote: »

There is a high correlation between the amount of motorways opened and the drop in road deaths as head on collisions are by far the highest cause of death on the roads. We should spend more money on motorways and less on the RSA.

I looked at the 2016 annual report of the Road Safety Authority.
Their income is about 70 million from driver testing fees, car test levy, driver licences, commercial vehicle testing.
That is the money given to them. They spend that on wages and on road safety and other programmes.
They are self-financing.

Or you could cancel all commercial vehicle and car testing, driver testing and licencing, and improve the roads by about 60 million a year.
The only problem with your idea is that the roads would be full of wrecks driven by people who couldn't drive properly.

Gerrup Outta Dat!

Why can’t they have a keep left, get up to speed when merging, no skipping traffic in the bus lane or hatched area campaign?

Ralf and Florian

Roger_007 wrote: »

I've noticed over the last few months that almost every ad break on TV, (including all Sky channels), contains a road safety ad from the Road Safety Authority.
Now, I have no objection to the occasional reminder about road safety but I think that the type of saturation advertising is a bit over the top, particularly as the ads are designed to be upsetting. Sometimes they have two ads in the same ad break.
I was watching golf for a couple of hours on Sky last weekend and just for the hell of it I decided to count the number of road safety ads by the RSA. It came to 11 in the space of two hours.
I don't know what the RSA advertising budget is, but it must be colossal.
Do we really need that amount of reminding?

You should have seen some of the road safety ads that I remember from the the 70's and 80's. The ones nowdays look like Peppa Pig in comparision.

whoopsadoodles

This weekend sees the birthdays of my son and daughter. My son would be celebrating his 18th. They were killed on our roads.

If those ads stop one family going through the pain that comes with losing those they love the most, then they're worth every minute. In my, biased, opinion.

The ads might be upsetting but they're nothing compared to the reality.

branie2

So sorry for your loss :-(

juneg

Roger_007 wrote: »

Do we really need that amount of reminding?

Yes. Because it's preventable. Our family also in those statistics. The reality is more horrific than you can ever imagine

TallGlass

The more realistic the better, not graphic, realistic. People need to see what happens in an these incidents. I think with the rise in dash cameras footage we will start to see them make an appearance in these ads.

If you want so called 'shocking' footage of incidents in which lives are lost, head over to YouTube, the majority of the incidents are down to simple human error, it just so happens that another factor is at play in the incident, like speed.

Hiding away from it is not the answer, people not just drivers need to see what can happen from making the most basic of mistakes. Nobody wakes up in the morning and decides they want to lose there life on the roads today.

Personally, and I am not mad fanatic on road safety, it would be great to see that figure under 100 after 2020.

LETHAL LADY

My toddler runs away in terror when the split second one comes on. The crash scene at the end freaks her out completely and to be fair I get a jolt every time at the end too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1_n7dpv_Ks

Turtwig

Mr.S wrote: »

The more shocking and regular, the more it will stick in.

Is there any research supporting this?

corner of hells

Ralf and Florian wrote: »

Roger_007 wrote: »

I've noticed over the last few months that almost every ad break on TV, (including all Sky channels), contains a road safety ad from the Road Safety Authority.
Now, I have no objection to the occasional reminder about road safety but I think that the type of saturation advertising is a bit over the top, particularly as the ads are designed to be upsetting. Sometimes they have two ads in the same ad break.
I was watching golf for a couple of hours on Sky last weekend and just for the hell of it I decided to count the number of road safety ads by the RSA. It came to 11 in the space of two hours.
I don't know what the RSA advertising budget is, but it must be colossal.
Do we really need that amount of reminding?

You should have seen some of the road safety ads that I remember from the the 70's and 80's. The ones nowdays look like Peppa Pig in comparision.

Absolutely , a cousin of mines kids got parts in the road safety adds in the late eighties / early nineties.
Really strange and disturbing watching them on TV .

Prune Tracy

I was a child in the 80s/early 90s and I remember numerous scary awareness campaigns (like "Where's Grandad?" - water safety, and fire safety, farm safety and the ones about the danger of electricity poles/pylons) but can't remember any shocking road safety ads - maybe they were only aired when I was in bed. I just remember The Safe Cross Code with Judge the dog and one with a man who may have been a professional cyclist giving a stern talk about road safety. Maybe there was a crash test dummy one in there too.

The really graphic ones only started in my memory well into the 90s or 00s. Before the RSA came into being, but obviously continued by it. The one using Fleetwood Mac's Man Of The World (drink driving) always stands out - that's a huge shocker.

Since then, there have been numerous horrifically graphic ones, and horrifically sad ones, but I think they're very necessary. They might be awful to watch but the reality of what they're depicting is infinitely worse - that's the concern, not how harrowing the ad is.

SmartinMartin

whoopsadoodles wrote: »

This weekend sees the birthdays of my son and daughter. My son would be celebrating his 18th. They were killed on our roads.

If those ads stop one family going through the pain that comes with losing those they love the most, then they're worth every minute. In my, biased, opinion.

The ads might be upsetting but they're nothing compared to the reality.

A seriously hefty dose of reality right there. I think this comprehensively answers the point raised. So, so sorry for your losses whoops and juneg.

AndyBoBandy

If I have to endure 1,000 of these ads for it to hit home with just 1 person to not drive dangerously, and thus save a life, then it’ll be worth it.


The problem is we will never know how many lives these ads save! I would like to think it’s some, but we’ll never truely know.

I’d like to think every time I or you see the ad, someone else sees it and as a result, drives with just a little bit more care and attention that day.

Sonics2k

Roger_007 wrote: »

Do we really need that amount of reminding?

I'd say we absolutely still do.

Every morning on my drive to work on my bike, I can see numerous drivers swapping lanes without indicating, on their phones, doing their makeup, driving with no lights on.

I see bikers filtering between cars at speeds in excess of 80Km/h, wearing all black gear on a black bike.

Every weekday morning, on my 20 minute commute from Ballincollig to Mahon I'll see at least two accidents on the road.

erica74

I think the ads need to be more evenly spread across all problems on the road, not just speeding, other than that, I don't mind them.

omega man

I find the ‘don’t look back’ add quite powerful, if even haunting.

It’s actually quite a clever way of getting a message across without the graphic shock factor.

Probably the most influential add I’ve experienced and it most certainly made me think about my driving habits whilst my kids are in the car.

Robsweezie

exaisle wrote: »

Who cares if it has the desired effect..

LETHAL LADY wrote: »

My toddler runs away in terror when the split second one comes on. The crash scene at the end freaks her out completely and to be fair I get a jolt every time at the end too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1_n7dpv_Ks

Yep.

lazybones32

People are too complacent while driving. Adverts may shock them for a little bit but will it spur them to change behaviour?

Whatever about talking on the phone while driving, the amount of people i see texting while driving is fcuking scary.

LETHAL LADY

LETHAL LADY wrote: »

My toddler runs away in terror when the split second one comes on. The crash scene at the end freaks her out completely and to be fair I get a jolt every time at the end too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1_n7dpv_Ks

That always strikes me as a very well crafted ad, high quality production.

You also have the recent ad featuring the clips of a child who was killed, an interview with the mother, nurse and Garda that was very powerful, hard to watch.

They certainly can't be accused of drumming out some boring repeated message. They are powerful works.

And I think they have affected my driving, or at least the continued received message along with a number of other factors, maturity etc. have seen me slow down.

Wanderer2010

I like the song on the Ballymun ad...

Seriously though the ads need to keep on coming until people start getting the message about speeding and drink driving.

brightspark

They should start publishing statistics on life changing injuries too!

Not sure if the same correlation applies but for every industrial accident where some one dies there are about 10 people who have a serious injury (limb loss etc)

That would imply about 5-6 people becoming disabled everyday!

retro:electro

There can never be enough money pumped into this, imo. There are still people out there in this day in age who do not wear their seat belts, talk on the phone, text and speed. Unfortunately there will always be thickos who do these things but if it makes people more aware of their surroundings and less complacent when driving then it's worth it. It can be very easy to fall into a false sense of security when driving and assume everyone around you is as aware as you are- they are not. We go from paralysing learner nerves to complacency too quickly.

Infini

branie2 wrote: »

As long as it gets the message across

More accurately the oversaturation becomes irritating and peolle switch channels or turn off the thing entirely. Same as the chugger adds once you go overboard noone wants to know anymore.

K.Flyer

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

I like the song on the Ballymun ad...

Seriously though the ads need to keep on coming until people start getting the message about speeding and drink driving.

And using their phones while driving.
It is astonishing how many drivers I see Every Day holding a phone to their ear, or its in their hand (presumably on speaker), or worse reading / sending texts / messaging or social media.
You see them drifting from one side of their lane to the other, sometimes crossing over lines.
Selfish dangerous imbeciles the lot of them!

diomed

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

I like the song on the Ballymun ad...

Seriously though the ads need to keep on coming until people start getting the message about speeding and drink driving.

The lack of sleep is also a factor in accidents.
Sleep debt plus alcohol is about five times more dangerous than alcohol alone.

the_pen_turner

get sky plus , you wont have this issue. I very seldom see the adds and even that that they are flying past a 30X speed.

Squeeonline

stimpson wrote: »

There is a high correlation between the amount of motorways opened and the drop in road deaths as head on collisions are by far the highest cause of death on the roads. We should spend more money on motorways and less on the RSA.

That's the problem with correlations....

Those figures also correlate with:
- the shrinking of the economy and fewer cars on the roads.
- Or fewer white van men driving around,
- less money for boy racers to spend on souped up micras,
- less money for people to go out drink so much and drive home,
- fewer older cars on the road and bettter safety standards in new cars.

The data can tell whatever story you want it too with enough effort, the reduction may not be from a single factor.

ToddyDoody

They're great aren't they. Maybe the next one can be a wedding. 97% of the ad is scenes from the day and then right at the end the wedding car crashes, everyone dead and the message "never ever take your eyes off the road"

lazybones32

K.Flyer wrote: »

And using their phones while driving.
It is astonishing how many drivers I see Every Day holding a phone to their ear, or its in their hand (presumably on speaker), or worse reading / sending texts / messaging or social media.
You see them drifting from one side of their lane to the other, sometimes crossing over lines.
Selfish dangerous imbeciles the lot of them!

Liveleak attests to this carry on. The amount of videos + selfies being taken while driving is crazy.

Dravokivich

I don't think they are too effective to be honest. A lot of people put it aside and don't think they will ever find themselves in that position. So they do little things "for a moment" and take themselves out of the need to be careful by thinking, "well, nothing happened now." Over time, this becomes "nothing ever happens." Bad driving gets normalised for someone due to this. They'll start progressively doing worse things while they are meant to be in charge of a vehicle.

A violent ad campaign may be more effective with it being shot point of view, so the viewer takes the place of those involved in the ad. Have them see what happened and how it happened without presenting blame on anyone.

I was hit recently by someone who ran a red light and all that they were concerned with initially, was that in the length of time they'd been driving they were never in an accident before. They didn't seem to think properly about what they were doing. They knew they had a red and decided to go for it.

wakka12

Some of them are very good imo. The one where the elderly lady is looking back over her shoulder and time passes backwards to when she looked over her shoulder to her young child and crashed. Very haunting, really stuck with me

Roger_007

wakka12 wrote: »

Some of them are very good imo. The one where the elderly lady is looking back over her shoulder and time passes backwards to when she looked over her shoulder to her young child and crashed. Very haunting, really stuck with me

Yes, some of the ads are very well produced. The current one they are showing is not very good though. It's just a few 'talking heads' saying "it shouldn't have happened". Not very innovative or effective, imo.
The point I was making in my opening post is that the ads are appearing far too frequently and thereby losing their effect. You don't need to be reminded every 10 minutes that "it shouldn't have happened". What will happen is that the RSA advertising budget will run out and then there will be no ads, or very few anyway. They should be spaced far more strategically for greater effect.

SimonTemplar

I'm learning to drive at the moment and one lesson I was getting tips from my instructor on good hand positioning when turning a corner.
When I was a pedestrian later that day waiting for the lights to change at a junction, I was looking inside all the cars that were passing me just to see how they were holding the wheel as that was fresh in my mind. The amount of drivers I saw looking at their phones while going through that junction was shocking. At least three drivers were looking down at their lap whilst crossing the junction, presumably looking at their phones.

We may have made a lot of progress with drink driving but there is still a lot of apathy regarding driving and mobile phones. If there need to be graphic ads to get the message across, so be it.

Prune Tracy

If a person texts while sitting in a standstill traffic jam, they're still committing an offence - it's still texting while driving even though the vehicle is stationary, but the engine is on so there's no defence. I can see why a person would do it however, even though they shouldn't.

But texting while actually moving the vehicle... how on earth can a person physically do this? Yet many do. It's madness!

Ralf and Florian

Prune Tracy wrote: »

I was a child in the 80s/early 90s and I remember numerous scary awareness campaigns (like "Where's Grandad?" - water safety, and fire safety, farm safety and the ones about the danger of electricity poles/pylons) but can't remember any shocking road safety ads - maybe they were only aired when I was in bed. I just remember The Safe Cross Code with Judge the dog and one with a man who may have been a professional cyclist giving a stern talk about road safety. Maybe there was a crash test dummy one in there too.

The really graphic ones only started in my memory well into the 90s or 00s. Before the RSA came into being, but obviously continued by it. The one using Fleetwood Mac's Man Of The World (drink driving) always stands out - that's a huge shocker.

Since then, there have been numerous horrifically graphic ones, and horrifically sad ones, but I think they're very necessary. They might be awful to watch but the reality of what they're depicting is infinitely worse - that's the concern, not how harrowing the ad is.

The dummy one you mention is probably one that had a little action man type figure being fired through the windscreen of a car with a catapult. Would have been circa late 70's. Another one from this time about drink driving juxtaposed someone loading a shotgun with a drivers POV shot of a pedestrian being mowed down on a dark country lane, the final shot was the shotgun sliding down a bar counter and knocking over drink glasses.

valoren

Probably a more effective one would be to have a white background with black text saying something like...

The roads in Ireland are not dangerous.
Those who use them without care make them dangerous .
Don't be an asshole.
Drive safely.

From the Road Safety Authority.

The use of the bad language while probably illegal in public advertising would be more garner fare more attention which in this case is a good thing than either a clever ad or gore fest intended to frighten people into changing.

Neyite

More ads and more policing on the roads.

At least once a day I see some muppet do something dangerous on the roads. Constant phone use. Incorrect lane use. Speeding. Driving on the wrong side of the road. The list goes on.

This morning I had the green light and a cyclist sailed through his red light right into my path. It's a junction with lots of school kids so I generally take it cautiously anyway in case one of them happened to bolt. Which is probably the reason I'm not picking his teeth out of my bonnet. The fcukwit is too stupid to use the road.

AndyBoBandy

Neyite wrote: »

more policing on the roads.

I would say this needs to happen.

I remember a few years ago on a Bank Holiday weekend (a weekend where they were doing one of those road safety campaigns, with supposed Garda presence & checkpoints everywhere), I drove from North Dublin to rural Galway and back twice over the weekend, and didn't see 1 Garda car. not 1

When is the last time anyone passed a Garda checkpoint? (I'm aware they do happen as per the Garda Traffic Twitter account).

Borderfox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epTdI-9V6Jk

I think youll find the car that crashed into them on the wrong side of the road did the damage

whoopsadoodles

Borderfox wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epTdI-9V6Jk

I think youll find the car that crashed into them on the wrong side of the road did the damage

Of course it did. But the point of that ad is that you don't know what idiots you might meet on the roads. You might be the best driver in the world but that alone will not save you as you cannot control the actions of others. You can however, attempt to minimise the effects of those actions on you and other people in your car by taking steps like wearing your seatbelt.

It's simple risk assessment and control.