Is pushing your speed worth it?

Theme: Speed

Is pushing your speed worth it?

Speed contributes to around one in four fatal collisions on our road, and kills and injures 58 young people every week. But despite this, only 32% of young men consider it very risky, with THINK! research showing that this audience particularly underestimate the risks of driving just a little too fast for the conditions.  

To help tackle this, THINK! is relaunching their campaign to raise awareness of the impact that even slight speeding on rural roads can have. The campaign speaks to male drivers aged 17-24, as they are overrepresented in speed-related deaths and injuries. The campaign creative both highlights the consequences of driving too fast for the conditions, especially on rural roads, and champions those who respect the road and get there safely.  

The campaign asks young drivers ‘Is pushing it worth it?’, encouraging them to reflect on their own driving and to reappraise the consequences of what they currently perceive to be safe speeds. It will run across video on demand, digital audio, online video and social media for 8weeks from January to March 2024. 

As part of the campaign, THINK! launched UnXpected FM, a new audio ad, in the form of a fake pirate radio station. The innovative and dynamic ad uses real-time weather data to tailor its broadcasts, incorporating references to specific rural road conditions – such as ice, wind, or rain – that our young drivers may encounter. The charismatic hosts of the radio station played by comedy actor Hugo Chegwin (BBC’s People Just Do Nothing) and Kadeem Ramsay (Netflix’s Top Boy) encourage our target audience to reflect on their own driving and consider the consequences of what they currently perceive to be safe speeds.

The ads will digitally broadcast nationally across England and Wales. There are 13 distinct variations of the ad, each designed to resonate with different scenarios. To provide a glimpse, you can listen to the generic ad below.

We welcome support from partners in sharing the campaign assets via your channels – select ‘Get this’ below and then click the Vimeo icon to download the assets. Assets are free to use for educational purposes, however if you would like to use the templates for paid or commercial opportunities, this may involve additional usage costs – please fill out a usage request form to help us determine this.

All assets signpost to Is pushing your speed worth it? – THINK!, where young drivers can find more information on speeding and rural roads.

Please find the partner toolkit here THINK! speeding campaign 2024 – partner toolkit and a clip of our radio ad directly below.

Good drivers – we salute you

THINK! research has found that many young men who have been driving for a while are overconfident in their driving ability and believe they can safely take risks when at the wheel.

This includes driving too fast, especially when in a hurry or on roads they think they know well, and being more likely to use a handheld mobile at the wheel.

However, research also shows that for this group of young men, the mates they silently prefer to be driven by are those who drive safely.

THINK! is launching the Good Driver campaign to help normalise this silent respect and spark a conversation about good driving by encouraging young men to see that mates respect mates who don’t take risks on the road.

The campaign has been created in collaboration with the County FA and media partners Acast, COPA90, Twitch and Jungle Creations. Content will run throughout June and July across video on demand, social media, online video, podcast and in-game streaming.

Our launch assets, created in partnership with the County FA, can be downloaded at the links below. Follow @THINKgovuk on Twitter to discover and share more content from our campaign partners throughout June and July. Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply.

Be the Mate who won’t Speed

Following an increase in the proportion of vehicles speeding in the first national lockdown, THINK! has relaunched a new campaign encouraging high-risk young male drivers to rethink their need to speed when making essential journeys.  Young men are over-represented in speeding-related casualties, and are also more likely to work in industries where they still need to travel for work during in lockdown.  

Initially launched on 28 January 2021, the campaign tackles speeding among this high-risk group, by encouraging young drivers to ‘Be the mate who won’t speed’, to keep themselves and others safe and reduce pressure on vital services including the NHS. The campaign challenges some of the common reasons for speeding – being in a hurry, driving on familiar roads and fewer vehicles on the road.

Radio and digital audio will be used to intervene at key moments, such as journeys to work shifts and for essential shopping, challenging the need to speed in real time.

Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply. To download static and animated memes and the audio ads, click on the ‘Get this’ link below. 

THINK! Restart Activity

THINK! has launched a new series of social films in response to easing of Covid-19 restrictions and high-risk young male drivers returning to busier roads. 

Supporting the Government’s Safer Transport Campaign, the activity reinforces key road safety messages on speeding, drink, and mobiles, prioritising those at highest risk on the road. Young males aged 17-24 are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured compared to car drivers aged 25 and over. 

We’ve created 3 videos in collaboration with SPORTbible highlighting the importance of safe behaviours behind the wheel as young drivers return to the road. Building on the return of live sport and our audience beginning to get back on the road to meet up with friends, the videos feature legendary football commentator Jonathan Pearce.

To accompany these videos we have created a series of bitesize films tackling mobile phone distraction, speeding and drink driving targeting our priority audience, with activity running on channels including Snapchat, Instagram Stories and a Twitter sports partnership.  

Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply.

View and download the campaign films



 

	


	

			






	

		
The Road Whisperer
	


	

		
1 in 5 drivers crash in the first year after passing their test. Our research revealed that young drivers often feel vulnerable on the road. This can lead to them driving more defensively and taking unnecessary risks to over-compensate for their inexperience.


We know it takes real road experience to become a good driver. Launched 5 March 2019, our latest campaign encourages new drivers to ‘learn the ways of the road’ with the help of the Road Whisperer.


The mysterious Road Whisperer – think ‘The Dude’ from The Big Lebowski – will deliver tips and advice around some of the most nerve-wracking moments that new drivers face.


We’ve created a suite of tips that will run throughout March across cinema, video on demand and social media. The tips include driving on country roads, on motorways, at night, in light rain, on roundabouts, the importance of checking your tyres, and looking out for vulnerable road users.


Our launch materials are available below.


We’ll be making the remaining assets available throughout March. Assets supplied are free to use for educational purposes, however if used in a paid-for capacity (particularly outside of the national campaign period) usage fees may apply.

	


	

			






	

		
Speed
	


	

		
When driving, a few miles per hour can mean the difference between life and death. The faster someone drives, the less time they have to stop if something unexpected happens.


If you kill someone while speeding, you will have to live with the long-term emotional consequences.


Speed limits are there for a reason.




The facts


    

  • Speed is one of the main factors in fatal road accidents.
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  • Fatal accidents are 4 times as likely on rural ‘A’ roads as urban ‘A’ roads.
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  • 3,121 people were killed or seriously injured in accidents where ‘exceeding the speed limit’ or ‘travelling too fast for the conditions’ was recorded as a contributory factor by the police.
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The law


    

  • You must not drive faster than the speed limit for the type of road and your type of vehicle.
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  • The speed limit is the absolute maximum and it doesn’t mean it’s safe to drive at this speed in all conditions.
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