The latest Transport Accident Commission road safety campaign is as graphic and hard-hitting as it is quirky and memorable. And there should be no apologies for that.
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If the campaign, launched on Thursday, jolts even one driver into being more responsible, then the TAC has done its job.
The mix of high-powered vehicles, false bravado, distractions like mobile phones and the prevalence of drug-driving is a fatal combination.
On almost a daily basis, we watch TV footage of yet another life lost on our roads. We see it so often, we’re almost numb to it.
We hear and see what has happened. We may even know the crash victims or their families.
But do we really know what happens to our bodies when involved in a car crash?
That’s where Graham comes in. Graham is the ugly face of the TAC’s latest campaign to reduce the state’s road toll.
Graham serves to highlight how susceptible the human body is to the forces involved in transport accidents.
TAC chief executive officer Joe Calafiore said: “People can survive running at full pace into a wall but when you’re talking about collisions involving vehicles, the speeds are faster, the forces are greater and the chances of survival are much slimmer.
“Cars have evolved a lot faster than humans and Graham helps us understand why we need to improve every aspect of our roads system to protect ourselves from our own mistakes.”
A school curriculum has also been developed to enhance the learning experience for students visiting Graham in person during a roadshow around Victoria or online.
“Graham is an educational tool that will serve the community for years to come as a reminder of why we need to develop a safer road system that will protect us when things go wrong,” Mr Calafiore said.
Gearing Graham’s campaign towards school aged children before they start learning how to drive will hopefully have a major impact on their psyche …. a graphic reminder of what can really happen when they get behind the wheel of what is essentially a deadly weapon.
It may be a hard-hitting campaign, but it needs to be to get the road safety message across. There is no sugar-coating serious injury and death.
Graham needs to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind when they get behind the wheel.