Road safety campaigns created by young Australians to encourage their peers to consider safety ratings and buy the safest vehicle they can afford have been launched across Australia.
The Re:act behaviour change program challenges TAFE students to raise awareness among 16-25-year-olds of road safety issues to change road user behaviour and make all road users safer.
The 2022 program focused on ‘safer vehicles’, educating young workers, apprentices and students about the importance of considering safety in deciding which vehicle to purchase and encouraging them to research star ratings and safety features when buying a used or new car.
In 2022, the Re:act program ran in Australia with graphic design students at TAFE colleges in NSW, Victoria, WA, Queensland and, for the first time, South Australia, and with design communication students at universities in NSW, Victoria, WA and Queensland. Internationally, Brazil and the United States have joined the United Kingdom this year in running the road safety program.
As part of Re:act, the selected Australian campaigns are launched on the roadside and retail digital assets of long-term Australian media partner oOh!media.
The campaigns launched today were created by students at TAFE NSW, Chisholm TAFE in Victoria, North Metropolitan TAFE in WA, TAFE Queensland and TafeSA. Students employed a range of techniques, from humour to horror and highlighting first responder perspectives, to convey the ‘safer vehicles’ message.
Re:act founder and CEO Andrew Hardwick, said: “Fantastic to see the TAFE Re:act 2022 campaigns launch nationally across Australia today.
“This would not be possible without the incredible support of our partners, lecturers, students, and national media partner oOh!media. A huge thank you to all,”
He added: “Raising awareness and educating young people to buy safer vehicles is a challenging but critical road safety message to communicate to all young people, including young workers, apprentices and students.
“Young people often have busy work schedules and social lives so it is important we encourage them to buy and drive the safest vehicles possible, both in their personal lives and for work.”
Timed to coincide with National Work Safe Month, the Re:act 2022 TAFE campaigns aim to address the misconception among this typically hard-to-reach cohort that safer vehicles are outside their budget.
Robbie Dery, oOh!media’s chief commercial Operating Officer, said: “With young people disproportionately impacted by road trauma and death across the country, it is fundamentally important we communicate with young drivers at the moment of key decision-making – when they are behind the wheel.
“As Australia’s largest Out of Home media company, oOh!’s national digital network can reach these young drivers at scale and encourage them to make safer decisions about their vehicles and driving. oOh! has partnered with Re:act for several years. We’re pleased to continue supporting this important initiative and reinforcing key road safety messages to the country’s youngest road users.”
