A South Australia Police (SAPOL) road safety campaign is to hit the community’s television screens and social media this month, with filming already underway.
Assistant Police Commissioner Ian Parrott said the new road safety advertising campaign, filmed in Callington, aimed to curb the number of lives lost on the State’s regional and rural roads.
Assistant Commissioner Parrott said the campaign would air later this month across TV, billboards, regional press, digital platforms and in regional venues such as pubs and road houses.
“This campaign has been carefully crafted after extensive research into the attitudes and behaviours of drivers on regional roads, particularly those who live and work in regional areas,” Assistant Commissioner Parrott said.
He said the six ads, filmed in consultation with SAPOL’s Major Crash Investigation Unit, would depict the catastrophic impact of the five biggest causes of road deaths: Excessive speed; driver distraction; failure to wear a seatbelt; drink and drug driving; and driver fatigue
Assistant Commissioner Parrott said that while only 30% of South Australia’s population lived in regional or rural areas, an alarming 70% of deaths happened on regional roads.
He said nearly half of the people who had died on regional roads this year resided 20 km or less from where the collision occurred.
Minister for Road Safety, Vincent Tarzia said SAPOL’s road safety campaign was a crucial initiative to save regional lives.
“Driving close to home does not guarantee your safety in the regions and it’s not enough to know the road like the back of your hand,” Mr Tarzia said.
