A campaign designed by Curtin University students has highlighted the importance of ensuring a vehicle is safe and sound when purchasing a new or used car.
The students’ Safety Comes in all Shapes & Sizes campaign was selected as the most compelling one developed as part of the annual Re:act road safety behaviour change program.
Supported by the Road Safety Commission, Re:act challenges local marketing, communications and graphic design students to create a behaviour change campaign that raises awareness of a specific road safety issue facing 16-to-25 year olds.
Minister for Road Safety, Paul Papalia said that with this year’s focus on safer vehicles, the students, guided by industry experts, set out to influence young drivers to make safety a priority when purchasing a vehicle.
“The aim of the message should be to encourage young drivers to reconsider their approach and make informed, educated decisions — no matter their budget,” Mr Papalia said.
“While there is a range of factors that contribute to young drivers dying or suffering serious injury on WA roads, the higher proportion of younger drivers in older cars makes them more vulnerable to crashes and associated trauma.”
He said a safe vehicle was one of the five priority areas outlined in the State Government’s Road Safety Strategy, Driving Change, which aimed to reduce the number of people killed, severely or seriously injured on WA roads by 50-to-70 per cent by 2030.
The five priority areas the Government and community are focussed on over the next 10 years are Safe Roads, Safe Road Users, Safe Speeds, Safe Vehicles and Post-Crash Response.
“I thank all the students involved for using their creativity and talent to bring awareness of safer vehicles to young drivers and congratulate those who developed the selected campaign,” Mr Papalia said.
“The Government supports the Re:act program, which not only builds road safety knowledge and positively influences behaviour, but also inspires and nurtures local talent,” he said.
