Posts tagged accident
Give your Seatbelt a Hug
Feb 17th
I’ve seen this ad, produced by Sussex Safer Roads partnerships, three times in the last few days, so the chances are, you may have already seen it too. But the message it shares is so important, and the method of delivery so subtle, mouldbreaking and inspired, that if even one more person sees it and passes it on, it is worthwhile to share again.
It is called ‘Embrace Life’ and its sole purpose is to persuade you to always wear a seatbelt. You’d think that would be easy, given the proportion of car occupant fatalities who didn’t belt up, but the problem, which I’ve just illustrated is that to get the message across you have to talk about death, injury and crashes. And when you do that, people switch off. No-one thinks it will happen to them. And even having seen a graphic portrayal of the gruesome results of failing to clunk-click, the intended recipient of the message has dissociated the ad from their own life.
What this film does, is to come at the problem from a different angle, and with an impact that is emotional without being scary or sensational. I think the experience may vary from person to person, some may cry, others may feel uplifted, but I defy anyone not to be moved in some way.
Daniel Cox, the writer-director has this to say:
“It was central to the development of the project that we root the concept of wearing a seat belt firmly in the family domain, and create the advert so that it could be viewed by anyone of any age. Children are so important as opinion formers within their family that we felt it imperative to have a child take a pivotal role in relaying our message. One key aspect to the storytelling is that we developed Embrace Life to be non-language specific, so that the message wouldn’t become lost when viewed by visitors to, or residents of, the UK where English might not be their first language.”
I’ve waffled enough. Watch the ad.
Dave Wilson on Google+Is it a deer? Erm… no
Jun 8th
Generally as a society we’re used to hearing how “Chris hit a deer yesterday, going to be expensive to repair”, or “Jane nearly hit a pheasant last week”, or even a call to your insurer “I hit another car at a roundabout…”
So would anybody believe you if you turned around and said “my car’s been entrapped by a load of caterpillars”? Probably not, but I suspect you might have an open mind after seeing this pack!
I hope this doesn’t happen to my Honda Civic…
Don’t tut a woman driver…
Apr 11th
According to the esteemed Asia Insurance Review, researchers at Queensland University in Australia have found that :
A woman who is chided or criticised by her husband or male companion while she is driving is more than twice as likely to have an accident.
Apparently, 168 female students underwent a computer simulated psychological driving test. Half of the group were informed that the test would find out why men were better drivers then women, the other half were simply told the researchers were exploring the mental processes in driving.
Almost half the former group struck a (computerised) pedestrian who appeared suddenly, but only a quarter of the second group did.
The result of this – if women are bad drivers, it’s probably a bloke’s fault, hence womens’ car insurance is cheaper.
Yep, that must have been what happened here. After a quality attempt at parking, this lady is attempting to reverse out for another go.
Award Winning ‘Hot Girl’ video.
Feb 21st
This video, made for a Lancaster District Community Safety Partnership has just scooped an award at the New York film festival.
The film initially looks like it might be a rather naughty romp in a car, but gradually reveals a very serious anti-drink drive message that really merits the 2.5 million views it already has on Youtube. Don’t watch it if you’re easily distressed.
Expensive Mistake by careless Ferrari Driver
Jul 10th
If you are lucky enough to own a powerful rear-wheel drive car, whether it be something as exclusive as a Ferrari or something just a little more down to earth, like a Lotus or TVR, you need to be careful that you don’t lose control.
That’s why we offer such a massive discount on performance car insurance to owners who have completed a course like Ride Drive.
So if you’re lucky enough to have a dream car, think about improving your driving, or you’ll end up looking like a big wally – just ask this guy:
And if he doesn’t convince you, you could ask this Mustang driver.
Finally a guy driving badly…
Mar 7th
After months of wanting a clip of a guy driving as badly as some of the women previously displaying their distinct lack of driving talent, I’ve finally got one.
This is why cars come with a handbrake – shame he was too dumb to use it…
It was all going so well, but just as I was about to post this, Gerry sent me this.
Now, just imagine you’ve had a really bad smash. For any sensible person, the priority would be, get out of the car and move to a safe distance, maybe call 999.
Not this lady…
Taking your car for a service?
Feb 1st
Clamping down on the uninsured menace
Feb 1st
After the sweeping powers they got last year, the police are to get yet more powers to seize uninsured vehicles. Under the new system, they won’t even have to catch someone driving the uninsured car, and will be able to grab the car from a private driveway. What’s more, if you don’t either renew your insurance, or else complete a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) you’ll be liable for an automatic fine of £100.
If this seems like overkill, consider this.
Approximately 1 car in every 20 on the roads does not have valid insurance.
The drivers of these uninsured cars caused 36,000 crashes last year, resulting in 27,000 injuries and, sadly, 180 people lost their lives at the hands of an uninsured driver. In a third of these crashes, the uninsured driver fled the scene, knowing that it would be virtually impossible to be traced.
All of this costs money, £500 million last year, or £30 on everybody’s premium.
Uninsured drivers are ten times more likely than average to be drink drivers, six times more likely to be driving a mechanically unsafe car and three times more likely to have a Careless Driving rap.
Whilst we can’t do anything about cars which are unsound, drivers with a less than perfect history can get insurance for much less than they might think. We have special schemes available for drivers with a chequered history, and drink driving and careless or dangerous driving convictions need not mean extortionate premiums.
For everyone else, the new rules will mean that you will have to keep on top of your car’s insurance status, and make sure that you complete a SORN if you’re keeping the car off the road. You should also consider laid up cover to make sure your car is protected whilst you are working on it.
But the extra burden of red tape may well be worth it to rid the roads of the uninsured menace.