Authorities are scrambling to invent solutions to address the major issue of Australia’s rising road death toll with new markings and cameras regularly being introduced on roads. But insiders have long warned that surveillance, fines and scare tactics are not enough to deter drivers from taking risks on our roads.
Now, one young Aussie is being praised for a clever idea intended to prevent both drivers and passengers from not wearing their seatbelts while driving across the nation.
Although it’s been over 50 years since Victoria became the first state to make seatbelt wearing compulsory, evidence suggests that many Aussies still break those rules today. A year after AI-powered mobile and seatbelt detection cameras were introduced in NSW, it was revealed 88 per cent of fines handed out to drivers were related to incorrect seatbelt use.
Brisbane-based Tiffany Fouche is encouraging all Aussies to wear their seatbelts in a bid to save lives on our roads. Billboards across Queensland are now displaying her new campaign as part of the Australia-wide Re:act Road Safety Behaviour Change Program.
During her research, Tiffany discovered that while many drivers and passengers do habitually put on their seat belt for long journeys, it’s a different story for shorter trips and on rural roads.
“People admitted to cramming extra friends in the car, or not putting on their seatbelts to pop down ot the shops,” she told Yahoo News. “People in rural areas won’t put their seatbelts on because they don’t see the point.”
Others told the recent QUT graduate it’s “not cool” to wear a seatbelt and they find wearing one “uncomfortable”.
Tiffany believes that cameras and fines alone are not enough to encourage seatbelt use, and more positive messaging needs to be spread around the community instead of “fear tactics”. “Positive messaging works almost more effectively than fear tactics,” she said.
Tiffany smiling next to her campaign displayed at a Queensland bus stop. Source: Supplied
What is the new road safety campaign?
Tiffany’s campaign is inspired by the well-known nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty, which depicts an egg-shaped driver and passengers in a carton-shaped car travelling at night.
Alongside the slogan ‘Humpty should have worn a seatbelt”, her illustration shows a rear passenger flying into the air after an animal jumps in front of the car. Recent NRMA data revealed that collisions with animals in the last 12 months are the second worst in the past five years.
“I focused on passengers with my artwork because I found research from the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland revealed that rear seat passengers are especially at risk of leaving their seatbelt off,” she said.
“Rear seat passengers think they’re okay, but if you were to get into an accident, you become a flying projectile,” Tiffany explained, adding that it’s a “very frightening” thought.
Seeing her adverts across the state has been “exciting” for Tiffany, and she’s already seeing positive results. “People have been really enjoying it,” she said.
According to NSW Transport, a seatbelt must be on firm and flat with no slack. Source: NSW Transport
Re:act Executive Director and Founder Andrew Hardwick said Tiffany’s approach was “exceptional and made for a fantastically creative and strong campaign.”
“Tiffany’s campaign in Queensland will run in tandem with campaigns created by students in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth,” he explained. “All of them are unique and absolutely hit the brief with equal parts humour and gravity for the subject matter.”
Tiffinay’s overall message is to remind Aussies that “everybody in the car needs to be wearing their seatbelt”.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
