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Top design students to focus on sharing the road safely

27 February 2018

Australia’s top design students will focus on helping young car drivers share the road safely with trucks as part of the 2018 Re:act challenge, launched today at the Automotive Centre of Excellence in Melbourne.

The ATA is partnering with strategic creative agency Hard Edge and Swinburne University for the challenge, and will use the results to inform the design and messaging of the Volvo ATA Safety Truck (powered by BP, protected by NTI). 

ATA Safety and Skills Adviser Melissa Weller said too many 18-25 year old car drivers were involved in crashes with trucks, because they haven’t been taught lessons such as not cutting in front of trucks and not to overtake turning trucks on the left.

“Statistics show 80 percent of multi-vehicle crashes involving trucks are not the fault of the truck driver, and the ATA is doing our part to fix this problem through the Volvo ATA Safety Truck.

“The truck is a safety initiative that teaches people how to interact with trucks on the roads through education programs and participating in industry led events.

“Not only will the Re:act project allow us to engage with a young audience, but we will able to gain insights into how they want to hear road safety messages, and how they want us to communicate with them.

“This is a chance for us to gain insights into possible future directions for the Volvo ATA Safety Truck, and ensure this great resource is as effective as possible in educating drivers and future drivers,” she said.  

During today’s launch students were able to walk through the Volvo ATA Safety Truck, and met with ATA staff to discuss the campaign’s objectives.

“The ATA has taken full advantage of the program, and are delighted to have been hosted by the Automotive Centre of Excellence. The Centre’s commitment to developing learning opportunities reflects the continually changing demands of the automotive industry,” Ms Weller said.

Hard Edge Managing Director Andrew Hardwick said the 2018 campaign was another significant step in improving road safety among inexperienced drivers.

“We believe this is the first time a behavioural change campaign about vulnerable road users around trucks have been specifically targeted at the 18-25 year old segment,” he said.

Representatives from the top three Re:act 2018 finalists will present their campaign at ATA’s Trucking Australia 2018 conference,  in front of industry professionals . After hearing the pitches, conference delegates will vote for their favourite, which will receive an industry choice award.

For more information visit www.re-act.com.au.