Enjoy The Ride

A new ad campaign about speeding on the roads, and speed in life in general incorporates all the right elements - links issue to the wider cultural context, tells a story, promotes the benefits instead of the 'shalt nots'.

Sourced from the Office of Road Safety, Government of Western Australia, March 2011

Carl Honore, Slow Movement Author and Speaker, who helped launch the campaign:

'Forget the tired old shock tactics of yesteryear. Instead of trying to browbeat or terrify people into driving more slowly by bombarding them with gory images of mangled corpses, bashed up cars and severed limbs, the Enjoy the Ride campaign puts the stress on all the benefits that flow from following the speed limit.

‎Fewer accidents, to be sure, but also: Less money spent on fuel. Fewer toxic emissions into the environment. A calmness that allows you to take in the scenery, listen to music or talk radio, chat to your passengers or just let your mind wander (not too much, obviously.) Your car becomes a Zen refuge rather than a torpedo of road rage.'

This approach is incorporating all the elements that could be expected to make it 'sticky' - time will tell, but there is still the underlying 'why people speed' question.

Its often time pressures, which in part is influenced by the distance to cover, particularly in sprawling cities. Can we get Aussies to consider that maybe life *could* be a bit better with a more sensible design than urban sprawl (which causes us to spend more time travelling/rushing) and even slightly higher density living...since we are so keen to fly to the other side of the planet to marvel at walkable, and often car-free towns in Europe!

This links strongly to the University of South Australia's Centre for Life + Work's research eg:

Linked Up Lives: Putting Together Work, Home and Community in Ten Australian Suburbs (pdf)

Sustainable Lives in Sustainable Communities? (pdf)