Hon Michael Woodhouse

Associate Minister of Transport

9 January 2013       Media Statement 

NZ road safety ad strikes a global chord

Associate Transport Minister Michael Woodhouse has welcomed the unprecedented response to the latest road safety advertisement from the NZTA.

“Mistakes, is a powerful new ad that helps drivers understand that no matter how careful they are, other people will always make mistakes, and if we slow down fewer people will pay for mistakes with their lives,” Mr Woodhouse says.

Mr Woodhouse says the clip has had more than 2 million views on Youtube since it was first launched just four days ago, and the message is resonating both in New Zealand and around the world.

“It’s a terrific sign of success that this message has gone viral and got people talking about road safety around the world. We have had requests to use the advert from as far afield as Brazil and Poland, and had questions and positive feedback from the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and Sweden.

“Educational campaigns that invoke a strong emotional response can be far more effective in changing behaviour than simply telling people to obey the rules.

“It really brings home the point that the faster you go, the less time you have to react if someone makes a mistake on the road – even if you feel in control.” 

Mr Woodhouse says the message also complements the approach by the Police to enforce a 4km/h tolerance for speeding over December and January.

“Mistakes was developed as part of the Government’s effort to change the conversation around speed, which is a key plank of the Safer Journeys strategy.

“While the road toll has been reducing in recent years, there is no silver bullet when it comes to improving road safety, and success will ultimately be measured by a society increasingly free of death and injury on our roads.”

Mr Woodhouse acknowledges the collaborative efforts of the NZTA, Police and Clemenger BBDO in creating the advertisement. The previous record for a NZ video passing two million views wasBlazed, which took nearly two weeks, and prior to that was Ghost Chips, which took over a month to hit the mark.

Link to advert: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvLaTupw-hk

ENDS

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