Member Article

Councils bring a #CarFreeChristmas

Six of the region’s councils have come together to try and increase safety on the roads of the North East in the run up to and throughout the festive season.

Branded Road Respect, the campaign seeks to encourage people to have a care free Christmas by leaving the car at home this Christmas.

Road Respect aims to change the culture of driving and foster respect for law, lives and roads and this Christmas will be focusing on #CarFreeChristmas .

One of the main focuses of this year’s campaign is a strong anti drink driving messages alongside the illegal use of mobile phones, a new focus with the new 2017 law coming into place.

As part of the campaign an innovative and shocking online video and photo campaign is being launched early December, which will feature on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Featuring four friends Jack, Dean, Chloe and Emma, the visual digital campaign follows the group on a Christmas night out in Newcastle. The story features their activities including their chosen methods of getting home and subsequent outcomes.

Roadshows will also be out and about meeting people across the region, with interactive games, giveaways and strong messages on the consequences of not showing Road Respect. A bespoke game, featuring 360° video of the four friends will be shown to visitors, giving them five seconds to spot as many things as possible. Five seconds is equal to a glance at a phone screen while driving and will highlight how much you can miss in that short time. Prizes range from selection boxes to Nexus Pop cards loaded with £10 to get people to leave the car at home this Christmas.

Steve Donaldson, Partnership Manager of Road Respect, said:

“With recent figures showing that one in six admissions to hospital in our region is due to car collisions it really is important that people realized the dangers of picking up their phone or having ‘just the one’ drink when driving this Christmas.

“Campaigns like Road Respect save lives if they make even just one person make the right decision. With our integrated digital, media facing and face to face roadshow activities we hope to reach over 100,000 people in December alone, so just imagine what a positive impact we can be having on the drivers and the roads in the North East!”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophie Isobel .