This was sourced from Hardedge: Re:Act
An intelligent and inspired campaign that humanises those at the ‘top of their game’ by speaking to the reality they still need sleep to perform at their best is the selected 2021 Queensland campaign for the Re:act road safety behaviour change program.
The ‘Even The Best Rest’ campaign was created by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) students Isobel Dembrey-West, Campbell Glaves, Saskia Harper, Austin Harvey, Alexander Sartori and Laura Tran as part of Re:act to educate young drivers about the risks of driving fatigue.
Re:act challenges local university students to create a campaign that raises awareness among 18-25 year old road users of a critical road safety issue. The ‘Even The Best Rest’ campaign will be featured across more than 300 of Re:act media partner oOh!media’s extensive network of assets including university campus, retail, street furniture and roadside billboards in Queensland.
Saskia Harper said the ‘Even The Best Rest’ idea was inspired by research, completed as part of Re:act, that showed young drivers considered driving fatigued as normal and that humorous and authentic road safety campaigns were more effective. Participating in Re:act had also changed her own road safety behaviour, she added.
“Our target audience are aware of the dangers of driving fatigued but feel they have no choice and they prioritise their lifestyle over their safety,” Saskia said. “Our research also showed they believe they are capable of managing their tiredness while they drive, that they compare themselves to influencers, professionals and celebrities, and they are tired of road safety campaigns that use fear, so we wanted something humorous and authentic.
“That led to the idea of ‘Even The Best Rest’, which revolves around experts in their field, and the first figure we looked at was a racing car driver because they’re obviously linked to driving, so that gave the target audience a clear link to our message about not driving tired.
“Participating in Re:act has 100% changed my behaviour. Just the other day I woke up feeling very tired. I had to go somewhere with my friend and I asked my Mum if she could drive us. Previously I would have just driven.”
Re:act founder Andrew Hardwick said drawing parallels between sleep and peak performance created a strong connection for young drivers to realise they too needed rest to drive safely
“With those at the top of their game often put on a pedestal, it’s a very intelligent approach to reinforce that even the best in the world still need sleep to perform at their best,” he said.
“I look forward to seeing the QUT campaign joining selected Re:act campaigns in other states as the Re:act program goes live nationally in coming weeks.”
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said he was committed to improving road safety for young Queensland drivers.
“We are proud to continue our support of the Re:act program,” he said.
“With young people’s busy lives between social, work, and study demands, driver fatigue is a real risk at this stage of their lives.
“Re:act is a fantastic road safety education program that reaches across the whole community and our ongoing support reflects our commitment to improving road safety, particularly for those in this 18-25 year old age group.”
Elizabeth Waller, Road Safety Manager at program partner Transurban, added: ‘Transurban has supported the Re:act program since its inception, and this year’s theme of fatigued driving has seen QUT students come up with some outstanding creative campaigns. We look forward to seeing ‘Even The Best Rest’ across Brisbane billboards.”
Associate Professor Ioni Lewis, from Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q), said:
“Re:act is such an amazing initiative to be part of. It is inspiring to see the incredible concept ideas emerge. Thank you to the QUT students, their lecturer Professor Gayle Kerr and to my fellow panel members for your enthusiasm and hard work, and to the Re:act team, led by Re:act founder Andrew Hardwick, thank you for your vision and unwavering commitment to the program.”