Re:act TAFE fatigue campaigns launch nationally.

Image: Pictured in the Brisbane CBD, the 'Take a Break Mate – You Drive Lousy When Ya Drowsy' campaign was created by Queensland TAFE student Tori Sharpe.

Road safety campaigns focused on driver fatigue, each devised by local TAFE students, are launching today across more than 750 media assets in each corner of Australia to change behaviour among young drivers and apprentices.

In a coordinated display, peak hour drivers in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria were greeted with the road safety campaigns this morning. The campaigns, which will run for the next two weeks on OOH and four weeks online, were devised by TAFE graphic design students as part of the Re:act TAFE road safety behaviour change program.

An initiative of strategic creative behaviour change agency Hard Edge, Re:act TAFE challenges graphic design students to create a campaign that raises awareness among 16-24 year old road users of a critical road safety issue. The selected campaign is developed for public execution via media partner oOh!media’s national network of digital assets, including on TAFE campuses and in regional areas.

Re:act has run in 2021 at Queensland TAFE on the Gold Coast, Holmesglen TAFE in Melbourne and North Metropolitan TAFE in Perth. Students at TAFE NSW are currently participating in the program with South Australia’s launch date yet to be announced, giving Re:act a virtually national scope.

The program also runs in the university sector, through University of Technology Sydney, Curtin University in Perth, Swinburne University in Melbourne and Queensland University of Technology, as well as in the United Kingdom through University of the Arts London.

“Bringing together road and work safe agencies to collaborate on road trauma, a major issue for both, is fantastic and we hope that collaboration will continue past Re:act TAFE,” Re:act and Hard Edge Founder Andrew Hardwick said.

“We are immensely grateful to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and the Department of Transport and Main Roads for their strong support to get Re:act TAFE off the ground this year, which is testament of their commitment to those they represent.

“All participating students have conducted research with young people and with apprentices specifically that, once compiled, we believe will be a useful insight for the agencies into this hard to reach and understand demographic, which is over-represented in road trauma.”

Noel Cook, oOh!media’s Chief Commercial & Operations Officer, said: “Saving young lives on our roads is critically important, which is why we are pleased to support these campaigns and contribute resources and signage space to get the message out there.

“The students have done a great job creatively highlighting the dangers of fatigue, using eye-catching messaging and visuals ideally suited to the Out of Home format – this will definitely resonate with drivers across the country.”

Andrew Mahon, Transport and Main Roads (TMR) General Manager (Land Transport Safety and Regulation), said TMR was committed to improving road safety for young Queensland drivers.

“TMR is proud to support the launch of the Re:act TAFE program, which is educating our young drivers that fatigue is a real risk on the road,” he said.

“The Re:act program brings together industry, government and the community to work together on improving road safety for our youngest and most vulnerable drivers, and it’s great to see the extension of the program to include TAFE students this year.

“Unfortunately we know in Queensland, fatigue continues to be a contributing factor in serious crashes involving young drivers as they balance the requirements of work, study and social lives, and the impacts this can have on their sleep.

“The students were well placed to understand and develop a road safety message that resonates with their peers, and this campaign is an example of how they were able to apply their skills from TAFE to develop a message that will have a positive impact.

“The ‘Take a Break Mate’ campaign effectively uses humour to connect with young drivers, while reminding them of the importance of managing their fatigue before getting on the roads – before their actions hurt themselves, or others.

“Road safety is a key issue in the community and we look forward to seeing this campaign running across Queensland, reaching thousands of young people and educating them of the effects of fatigue on their driving.”

Visit reactforchange.com to learn more about the Re:act program.

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For further information:

Andrew Hardwick
CEO – Hard Edge & Re:act
M +61 (0)417 334 399
ahardwick@hardedge.com.au

An initiative of Hard Edge, the annual Re:act program challenges local higher education students to create a behaviour change campaign that raises awareness among 16-25 year old road users of a critical road safety issue where they are overrepresented. A panel of university or TAFE, road and workplace safety, and industry partners selects the most compelling road safety campaign in each state, which is then developed and launched on university or TAFE campuses and oOh!media’s digital assets, including its landmark billboards. Now in its sixth year, Re:act ran in 2020 in Melbourne with Swinburne, UTS in Sydney and, for the first time, Brisbane, through QUT. The program also expanded internationally into London, at University of the Arts London. In 2021, the Re:act program will once again run in each of those institutions and grow further in Australia, running in Perth for the first time with Curtin University as well as in TAFE campuses across Australia. There are further plans for international expansion into Europe, the United States and South America.