Road safety campaign "Get off the gas!"

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Logo of the road safety campaign "Get off the gas!"

The road safety campaign Runter vom Gas has been drawing attention to the consequences of excessive speed in road traffic since 2008. Since 2011, the campaign has been addressing other relevant causes of accidents - such as drink-driving, distraction, dangerous overtaking and insufficient safety distance, as well as special risks for other road users such as cyclists and pedestrians. The campaign of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) and the German Road Safety Council (DVR) is intended to further reduce the number of accident victims in Germany and to make road users aware of the dangers in road traffic.

background

In 2016, 3,206 people died on German roads - around 28 percent fewer than in 2008 and 7.3 percent fewer than in 2015. Almost every second traffic fatality was in a car in 2016 (1,531). Every sixth was a driver or passenger on a motorcycle (536), more than every seventh was a pedestrian (490) and almost every eighth was a cyclist (393).

In 2016, 1,853 people died outside urban areas (excluding motorways ) (around 58 percent of all traffic fatalities). 960 people (almost 30 percent) were killed in built-up areas and 393 road users (approx. 12 percent) on the autobahn. Around a third of all road fatalities were 65 years or older at the time of the accident. Among the pedestrians and cyclists, more than half of the people killed were seniors.

In 2016, the number of road deaths reached its lowest level in 60 years. “Get off the gas” is intended to help reduce the number of road deaths even further and to make road users aware of the dangers of road traffic. The number of traffic accidents with injuries is also to be further reduced. In 2016, 396,666 road users were injured in road traffic. In 2008 there were 409,047 injuries.

The "Down from the gas" campaign is one of several measures (such as improvements in vehicle safety, infrastructure and traffic monitoring) to achieve the goal of 40 percent fewer road fatalities by 2020 in the national road safety program. In addition, multipliers such as traffic guards , police forces, prevention officers in companies or associations should be supported in their prevention work.

Initiators

The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) and the German Road Safety Council (DVR) initiated the road safety campaign "Get off the gas" in 2008. Other partners as well as around 200 DVR members and numerous prominent supporters support the campaign.

Main topics

By far the greatest number of traffic accidents can be traced back to human error, including in the first place driving at an inappropriate speed. “Get off the gas” is intended to draw attention to the dangers of human error in road traffic and has therefore been focusing on other relevant causes and focal points of accidents since 2011, in addition to inappropriate speed. These include distraction, drink-driving, dangerous overtaking, insufficient safety distance and inner-city causes of accidents such as turning errors. In addition, the campaign also addresses buckling up in motor vehicles and is intended to promote the use of bicycle helmets and the wearing of highly visible clothing in the darker months of the year.

Cooperations and collaboration

The campaign works with partners such as the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV), automobile clubs, automobile manufacturers, driving schools, technical monitoring organizations and traffic guards. Traffic experts, pastoral workers, police officers, fire fighters, rescue workers and doctors are also regularly involved. Accident victims and relatives of accident victims were also available for reports. Celebrities also support the campaign. In 2016 and 2017 they included Kay One , Barbara Schöneberger , Julian Draxler , Mario Gómez , Raúl Richter , Hans-Joachim Heist and Jimmy Hartwig . In addition, the campaign cooperates with the transport and interior ministries of the federal states. Numerous events and prevention days as well as police checks with campaigns and materials take place nationwide.

activities

Highway posters

As part of the campaign, posters for the motorways have been developed every year since 2008. In coordination with the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) and the federal states, the German Road Safety Council (DVR) is responsible for nationwide traffic education on the federal motorways and rest areas. In several federal states, the posters can also be seen on country roads . The posters are intended to sensitize road users to the subject of road safety and also to specific causes of accidents. A consumer test is carried out before each series of posters is published. This is to ensure that the motifs are easy to understand and work. Eleven nationwide poster series have been published since 2008.

Poster series "Obituaries" (2008)

The first row of posters attracted attention with polarizing obituaries with photos. For reasons of piety, no real accident victims were shown in the portrait photos. The posters were presented to the public in March 2008. This led to discussions in the media: The SHZ-Verlag headlined: "Meaningful provocation or emotional club?" The Rheinische Post wrote of a "shock campaign against speeders". The Süddeutsche Zeitung called the campaign an "obvious success" and wrote that the number of road deaths fell to 4,500 in 2008, after having been 5000 before the campaign began.

Poster series "Accident Wrecks" (2009)

The second series of posters from January 2009 showed wrecked cars and motorcycles. The crash vehicles shown were in contrast to positive and life-affirming symbols, such as vehicle stickers with “ABI” and “Baby on board” or a balloon with the inscription “Just Married!”.

Poster series "Bereaved" (2010)

The third row of posters brought the fate of the bereaved into the foreground. The pictures showed relatives of accident victims who held up pictures of the deceased and pleaded for the message “Get off the gas”. Here, too, no real accident victims were shown.

Poster series "Accident Victims" (2011)

The fourth series drew attention to the fate of the seriously injured and relatives. Accident victims and family were shown at the bedside. Real situations were also simulated for these poster photos.

Poster series "Sticky Notes" (2011/12)

The fifth and sixth poster series used sticky notes or pieces of paper to convey the campaign's messages. Among other things, there were messages that indicated correct behavior in traffic: “Don't forget to fasten your seatbelt”, “Don't get distracted” and “Drive carefully, honey”.

Poster series "Lifesavers" (2013)

The seventh series of posters showed authentic people who are regularly confronted with traffic accidents in their job - from rescue workers to firefighters to doctors - with the appeals "Keep your hands off your cell phone!", "Always drive sober!" And "Always buckle up ! ".

Poster series "Apparently beautiful world" (2014)

The images in the eighth series of posters should show how quickly beautiful moments can come to an end due to distraction or inappropriate speed. You could see happy young friends, a couple or a young family in the car, combined with descriptions like “One pushes, three die”.

Poster series "For my loved ones" (2015)

Objects were shown to remind drivers of those who are waiting for them at home - and for which they should be responsibly traveling: a soccer ball with goalkeeper gloves for the son, a ballet shoe for the daughter or a ring for the loved one.

Poster series "Because life is beautiful" (2016)

The tenth row of posters showed moments of happiness: friends on the beach, a couple at a mountain lake and a laughing baby. The motifs should make it clear why life is beautiful - and that you shouldn't put it at risk through inappropriate speed. For the first time, the posters were placed in a digital context and accompanied by numerous online measures. Users could send in pictures of beautiful moments and take part in a photo competition.

Poster series "Affected" (2017)

The eleventh row of posters showed the grief of relatives who lost a loved one in an accident. Accordingly, the motifs contained catchy and clear prompts: "Keep your hands off your cell phone!", "Get off the gas!" And "Keep your distance!" For legal reasons and for reasons of piety, no real accident victims were photographed for this series of posters either. In parallel published multimedia reports, actual survivors of accident victims described personal experiences. For the campaign, surveys and studies were used to determine the number of people who are directly affected by accidental death: an average of 113 people - including family, friends, close acquaintances and rescue workers.

Poster series "Distraction by Smartphones" (2018)

The motifs of the twelfth series of posters show destroyed smartphones. Happy people can be seen on the displays. The accompanying descriptions "Tip, tip, dead", "Jens (26), distracted by an SMS" and "Marie (38), distracted by an SMS" emphasize the danger of distraction in traffic.

Online, social media and materials

Reports, trend articles, service articles and news are published at runtervomgas.de. Users can also download information material and find videos there. Interactive modules such as the driving test “No cloth for cloth” with the comedian Hans-Joachim Heist as the fictional character Gernot Hassknecht, a quiz for understanding between car drivers and cyclists or competitions are intended to encourage people to deal intensively with the subject of road safety. The campaign also has a Facebook page. There, visitors will find further articles on all aspects of road safety. In addition, "Runter vom Gas" provides information material for those interested, multipliers and initiators of events on road safety.

Further actions

Country package

Cooperation partners of the campaign are also the interior and transport ministries of the federal states. The campaign supports the work of the police and other local partners with events and educational material such as banners, posters and brochures.

Motorcycle worship

"Runter vom Gas" has supported the annual motorcycle church services (MOGO) since 2008 . Since 2016, the photo-confessing campaign “Real men don't race” or “Strong women don't race” has been an integral part.

“No rag for rag” with Gernot Hassknecht

With Gernot Hassknecht as “Germany's toughest driving examiner”, users can test their knowledge in an online quiz and answer questions from the theoretical driving test. The participants can then share the results on social networks.

Action against distraction 2016 "The Myth of Multitasking"

Many fatal road accidents are caused by distraction at the wheel. The “Myth of Multitasking” campaign was launched in 2016 to draw attention to this. As part of a photo and video competition, the campaign was looking for creative minds who deal with the subject of distraction in traffic.

Action against distraction 2017 "#FingervomHandy"

The focus of the 2017 campaign against distraction was the use of smartphones at the wheel. Under the hashtag “#FingervomHandy”, texts, photos and GIFs drew attention to the consequences of distraction in traffic and could be shared on social networks. The focus was on a cinema spot. YouTuber Oguz Yilmaz and rapper Kay One supported the campaign.

Bicycle helmet campaign 2017 "I don't care about you!"

The aim of the “I don't care!” Campaign is to motivate adult cyclists to wear bicycle helmets. The reason for this is the sharp decline in the number of adult cyclists who wear helmets in traffic for some years now. As part of the campaign, children could apply for a free helmet for their parents or grandparents. Then there was a raffle for the bicycle helmets.

Notoriety

A survey carried out in December 2016 showed that more than one in two (54 percent) of those surveyed knew of the “Get off the gas” campaign. For the majority (95 percent) it is clear that the issue of road safety is at stake. 72 percent can assign this campaign to the initiators BMVI and DVR.

criticism

The "Get off the gas" campaign initially met with criticism. In particular, the fictional obituaries in the first series of posters were controversial among the public. World author Gideon Böss, known for his provocative opinion articles, describes the posters as “perverse autobahn art” .

A study by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, however, confirmed the success of the campaign: “The campaign 'Get off the gas!' almost ideally fulfills the requirements that are placed on the mass media effectiveness of a campaign that is intended to try to integrate socially acceptable behavior patterns into the repertoire of a specific target group (motorway drivers). Above all, the mixture of undoubtedly quick comprehensibility, high emotionality and clear statement, which lead to a quickly recognizable, immediate increase in knowledge, make the campaign a benchmark for similar considerations. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Federal Statistical Office: Traffic Accidents - Special Series 8 Series 7 - 2016 . Retrieved February 28, 2018 (PDF file).
  2. ↑ a b Federal Statistical Office: Press Release 230 - More accidents, but fewer road deaths than ever before . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  3. ↑ BMVI traffic safety program (2011)  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved February 28, 2018 (PDF file).@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.bmvi.de  
  4. ↑ Die WELT: Accident balance 2015 . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  5. ↑ SHZ-Verlag: Sensible provocation or emotional club? . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  6. ^ Rheinische Post Online: Shock campaign against speeders . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  7. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Safety campaign Get off the gas! - Slowly wins . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  8. ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung Online: Film competition Runter vom Gas . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  9. ↑ Autobild Online: Speeders, please take a look! . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  10. ↑ Slow Down: Press Release - motorway campaign Every accidental death affects the lives of 113 people . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  11. ↑ New motorway posters revealed . ( runtervomgas.de [accessed on August 8, 2018]).
  12. ↑ Take off the gas: Press release - Bikers are setting an example against inappropriate speed . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  13. ↑ Slow Down: Germany härtester examiners . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  14. ↑ Der Tagesspiegel Online: Distraction is the most common cause of accidents . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  15. ↑ YouTube channel "Runter vom Gas" . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  16. ↑ “Runter vom Gas” movie ad #FingervomHandy on YouTube , accessed on April 5, 2018.
  17. ↑ Focus Online: Helmet usage rate among cyclists - children are exemplary, adults are not . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  18. ↑ Get off the gas: Press release - BMVI and DVR campaign to further increase the helmet wearing rate . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  19. ↑ Die WELT: "Get off the gas" posters get off the autobahn! . Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  20. ↑ Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy: Analysis of the success factors for communicating the resource efficiency idea [1] . Retrieved February 28, 2018 (PDF file).