Road safety TV campaign targets pedestrians

PAY attention or pay the price. That’s the message running through a new pedestrian road safety campaign screened on TV for the first time last night.

So far this year 75 pedestrians have been killed on our roads - and one quarter were under 25 years of age.

The two commercials, sponsored by AXA Insurance, were jointly developed by the National Safety Council and the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland.

Joan Carty of the Irish Spinal Injuries Association, who had an opportunity to preview the commercials earlier this week, believes they will be effective in reducing the numbers of pedestrians killed on our roads.

“Two days after I saw the commercials I was driving home and a girl walked out right in front of me while texting a message on her mobile phone. I think the campaign will hit people like her and make them think twice.”

The first ad shows a boy crossing the road to join his girlfriend, but while sending a text message to her he is struck by a van and killed.

The second shows a boy racer tearing through traffic and around a corner. He gets distracted by a pretty girl and hits and kills a little boy crossing the road with his mother.

“We see the aftermath of these horrific accidents all the time. If these advertisements save a life or person from a spinal or brain injury they will have been worthwhile,” said Ms Carty.

Unfortunately, said Ms Carty, the consequences of carelessness on the roads did not seem to be sinking in with a huge amount of people.

Eddie Shaw, chairman of the National Safety Council, said they wanted people to stop and think about what happens to a human body when it impacts with a vehicle travelling between 20 and 40 miles an hour. But, he said, it was in conjunction with enforcement that their message worked best.

There was already strong anecdotal evidence that average speeds had dropped since the penalty points system was introduced. That was hugely important for pedestrians, he said.

He pointed out that a pedestrian hit by a car travelling at over 40 miles an hour had a 90% of being killed, compared to a car travelling at 20 miles an hour where the odds are reduced to one in ten.

“If you have a child in your car unrestrained travelling at 30 miles per hour and you hit a fellow traveller, that’s like dropping the child from height of 52 feet.”

Mr Shaw said he particularly liked the use of the original 1959 recording of Fats Domino singing, I Want to Walk You Home, in the commercials.

“I want people to remember the song long after the commercials have run their course. When they hear it again they will remember the road safety message whether they like it our not.”