KEEP Targeting ‘tailgating’: Peer-to-peer student-created campaigns promote safe following distances to young drivers
A common, frustrating and dangerous road safety behaviour is the focus of new road safety campaigns, created by young Australians for their 17-25 year old peers, launching nationally today as part of ‘Re:act Amplify month’.
The campaigns were devised by design communication university and TAFE students as part of the Re:act behaviour change program to encourage their peers to leave a safe following distance to the vehicle in front and educate about the dangers of following too closely, or ‘tailgating’.
As well as causing anxiety for other drivers and being rated the “worst behaviour” on our roads in driver surveys, potentially aggressive driving behaviours such as tailgating increase the odds of being involved in a crash by 13- to 15-times.
The Re:act program, which has been recognised with a Prince Michael Road Safety Award and by the United Nations, challenges design communication students around the world to create campaigns to raise awareness among 17-25 year olds of road safety risks and to change behaviour. More than 70 million people across Australia, South America, North America and the United Kingdom have seen student-created campaigns since Re:act’s launch in Australia in 2016.
Re:act Executive Director and Founder Andrew Hardwick says the peer-to-peer campaigns created by University students will run across the digital assets of Re:act’s exclusive Australian media partner oOh!media for four weeks from today, with campaigns created by TAFE students to follow in September.
In addition to campaigns launching today, Re:act Amplify month activities will promote and encourage government and industry to listen to young people’s perspectives on road safety through events including presentations to industry and education packs increasing awareness about safe following distance.
"The students' campaigns were created to highlight the importance of maintaining a safe following distance and the work they produced was insightful and exceptional," Re:act Executive Director and Founder Andrew Hardwick said.
“I’m confident they will both resonate with the young target audience and encourage all drivers to be more aware of their choices behind the wheel, making us all safer on our roads.”
Michael Cali, Group Director – Road, Street and Rail, oOh!media, said: “The most effective road safety messages are those that connect with people in meaningful ways.
“As Australia’s largest Out of Home company, we’re proud to use our national network to give young Australians a platform to share their voices and bring their ideas into the public spaces where conversations happen.
“By amplifying these student-created campaigns, we hope to encourage safer driving behaviours.”
Re:act campaigns created by University students will run across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth in August and campaigns created by TAFE students will run in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide in September. For further information and HiRes images, please contact andrew@reactforchange.org.
Visit reactforchange.org to view all campaigns and learn more about the Re:act program
Re:act 2026 selected campaigns
Swinburne University of Technology
Campaign: Easy tiger!
Students: Olivia Brando, Danielle Cassarino, Rhea Bissoondoyal, Wenjie Dong and Hamish Kenny
University of Technology Sydney
Campaign: Keep a gap
Student: Rachel Nguyen
Queensland University of Technology
Campaign: I just need space
Student: Lais Perske
Curtin University
Campaign: Play the track, hold it back
Students: Elisabeta Sica, Nikita Kaschula and Chloe Leach
Chisholm Institute
Campaign: Give it Roooom
Student: Aref Naseri
TAFE NSW
Campaign: 3 seconds saves lives
Students: Sheree Pickering and Lillielle Pickering
TAFE Queensland
Campaign: Leaving space keeps us safe
Students: Jana Jose, Nora Vuong and Jamila Ganzenmuller
North Metropolitan TAFE
Campaign: Would you walk this close?
Students: Owen Figliomeni and Matthew Pyle
TAFE SA
Campaign: Breathe innnn, chill out
Student: Andy Rushton
About Re:act
Since 2016, the annual Re:act road safety behaviour change program has increased awareness, built knowledge and changed behaviour of drivers and other young road users as well as their personal and professional networks.
The program challenges university and college students to raise awareness of road and workplace safety issues and change behaviour among their peers. Its purpose is to engage and bring together a collaboration of industry, government, higher education institutions and students, to inspire positive outcomes.
A local panel of higher education, road safety, workplace safety and industry partners select the most compelling road safety campaign in each jurisdiction, which is then developed and launched on university and college campuses and out-of-home media partner digital assets.
Globally, 12 Re:act programs will run in 2026 across Australia, Chile, Brazil and the United States.
Andrew Hardwick
Re:act Executive Director
M +61 (0)417 334 399
andrew@reactforchange.org