9 April 2002

Mention speeding and some men are happy to report the number of tickets they've received and boast about how fast they were travelling on the different occasions. It is ironic then that RoadSafe Auckland's summer speed campaign that pointed the finger at men and asked them to slow down should draw unprecedented feedback. Much of the campaign feedback came through the www.passengerpower.org.nz website where many people used the e-card facility, requested resources, or provided comments.

Auckland Regional Councillor Catherine Harland, Chairwoman of the Regional Land Transport Committee says, "Much of the Passenger Power campaign feedback centred on the apparently sexist nature of the billboards with claims made that it is not men that are the problem but it's women drivers, they are the "real" problem." Comments such as, "Men have the crashes, but women cause them", "Men drive more, so with the law of averages men are more likely to crash" were typical, others were less polite.

Statistics collected by the Land Transport Safety Authority clearly reveal that males are over-represented in speed related crashes. "Males are half the population yet they account for over 65% of the speed related crashes on the open road in and around Auckland," says Cr. Harland, "So, another way of looking at the campaign, was that it was well-targeted."

Results from a survey conducted at the end of the campaign showed that the campaign messages had an extremely high recall. The slogan with the highest recall was, "Speak up to slow him down" with 88%, followed by 58% recalling the "Stop him speeding, put your foot down" slogan, and 47% recalling the "Speak up and live, shut and die" slogan.

"RoadSafe Auckland is pleased with the campaign results that show 61% of people say they are more likely to ask a speeding driver to slow down after seeing or hearing the campaign," says Cr. Harland but are concerned that speed related attitudes overall have not shifted.

Despite increased resources being put into highway patrols, the perception that speeding motorists will be caught showed no improvement from last year, with just 27% of Auckland motorists believing it is likely to be caught doing a 120km/h on the open road.

"The fact that many motorists still believe it is acceptable to speed and are prepared to take risks with their own, their family's and others' lives and well-being is concerning and highlights the need to continue our efforts," says Cr. Harland.

RoadSafe Auckland is a region wide road safety group made up of representatives from Auckland's seven Territorial Authorities, Regional Council, Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA), NZ Police, Transit New Zealand, ACC, Auckland Healthcare, Alcohol Advisory Council (ALAC), Safekids and the Ministry of Health.

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