Neuroscience Experiment Launching In Queensland To Reduce Speed

A world-first road safety behaviour change program encouraging people to ‘drive smarter, not faster’ has been launched ahead of the Easter long weekend.

The program is a collaboration between the QLD Government and creative agency Publicis Worldwide

Simone Waugh, managing director of Publicis Worldwide in Queensland, said global road safety campaigns have always focused on reducing speed by highlighting extreme speed and extreme consequences.

Waugh said: “Traditional speed awareness campaigns featuring severe crash scenes are not connecting with the 94 per cent of drivers who are low-level speeders up to 10km over the limit and believe it’s okay.

“In our research, we discovered most drivers don’t deliberately speed, however, their busy lives mean they have reduced concentration while driving as they are thinking about everything else but driving, while also multitasking in the car.”

Waugh added: “This is not a campaign but a behaviour change program that’s brought together neuroscience with data science and creativity to design and give people real-time actions to help them be present while driving to alter their behaviour.”

Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the innovative approach uses neuroscience to tackle the serious issue of speeding, with ads showing Queensland drivers captured on dashcam before they take the experiments in their normal driving state and then analyses their behaviour during the experiments.

Minister Bailey said: “This is the first road safety campaign in the world to tap into neuroscience as a way of changing driving behaviour.

“With the help of a behavioural neuroscientist, we devised eight simple exercises to help Queenslanders stop speeding, stop being distracted and focus on driving.

“The campaign shows drivers in real situations.”

He continued: “The dashcam footage doesn’t hold back and shows the reality of speeding and distractions.

“It encourages Queenslanders to look at the simple techniques they can use to drive smarter, not faster.”

Minister Bailey said research had shown speeding saved drivers just 77 seconds on an average urban commute.

He said: “Yet more than one million speeding infringements were issued in Queensland last year.

“It’s time for this to change.

“Speeding continues to be a killer on Queensland roads, with almost 60 people killed each year because of speed.”

Minister Bailed concluded: “The Easter holiday period is just a few days away, and we ask all road users to heed the message of the campaign – driver smarter, not faster.

“Is gaining 77 seconds through speeding worth the risk to you or your loved ones?”

Credits

Client: Transport and Main Roads

Director (Community Road Safety): Kerrie Tregenza

Principal Advisor: Michelle Wells, Natalie Doyle

Agency: Publicis Worldwide

Executive Creative Director: Ryan Petie

Creative Director: Lee Griffin

Creatives: Lee Griffin (CD), David Schaak (Art), Kirsten Twigg (Copy)

Head of Broadcast & Content: Vicki Lee

Strategy Director: Susan Lyons

Group Account Director: Vanessa West

Account Director: Laura Bradshaw

Technical Director: Fredy Leivano

Mercer Bell: David Schneider/ Sophia Zhou/ Alistair McCall

Neuroscientist: Dr Lucia Kelleher

Production House: Taxi Films

Directors: Mike Mier & Lav Bodnaruk

Executive Producer: Andrew Wareham

DOP: Lav Bodnaruk

Post Production: The Chop Shop

Editors: Grant Sundin / Jordyn Haney / Steve Thomas / Lav Bodnaruk

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mark bailey Publicis Worldwide Transport and Main Roads