Speed – THINK!

Is pushing your speed worth it?

Speed contributes to more than half of all fatal collisions in Britain and kills or injures 137 young people every week. Despite this, only 32% of young men consider it to be very risky.

Male drivers aged 17-24 years old are over-represented in speed-related deaths and injuries. THINK! research shows that this audience particularly underestimates the risks of driving just a little too fast for the conditions.

To help tackle this, THINK! is relaunching its ‘Is pushing it worth it’ speed campaign to raise awareness of the impact that even slight speeding on rural roads can have. The campaign hero video highlights the consequences of driving too fast for the conditions, especially on rural roads, and champions those who respect the road and arrive safely.

The campaign asks young drivers ‘Is pushing it worth it?’ and encourages them to reflect on their own driving and what they currently perceive to be safe speeds. It will run across cinema, radio, digital audio, online video, and social media channels from January to March 2025.

THINK! will also be re-running its range of dynamic audio ads, UnXpected FM, which take the form of a fake pirate radio station. The award-winning ads use real-time weather data to tailor its broadcasts to specific rural road conditions that young drivers may encounter – such as ice, wind, or rain. The charismatic hosts of the radio station are played by comedy actor Hugo Chegwin (BBC’s People Just Do Nothing) and Kadeem Ramsay (Netflix’s Top Boy). To provide a glimpse, you can listen to the generic ad below.

This year, the campaign will include new social media creatives that build on how ‘UnXpected’ conditions can catch you out when you’re travelling too fast. We are also launching a new media partnership with LadBible, with popular Gen-Z influencers creating content focusing on the consequences of speeding.

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. 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.

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.