Young Australians campaign to peers to tackle mobile phone distraction on our roads

In August, the metropolitan winners of this year’s Re:act Road Safety Behaviour Change Program will have their innovative campaigns displayed on billboards and digital screens across Australia, targeting young people their own age who are distracted by mobile phones.

The national peer-to-peer annual program invites university and TAFE students to create a positive road safety campaign aimed at educating and raising awareness among 17-25-year-olds. The ultimate goal is to change behaviour and this year’s focus is on preventing distractions caused by mobile phones, whether as pedestrians or drivers.

Elena Ancarola, a member of the Swinburne University of Technology team in Melbourne, that won with their campaign ‘Park it in Your Pocket: Be a Safer Pedestrian’, said young people must have a voice on these issues if there’s to be meaningful change.

“Understanding how our peers think allows us to communicate more effectively and hopefully make an impact. Designing the campaign has been an amazing opportunity to combine the creative world with making a difference, and helping make our roads a safer place. It has opened our eyes to the reality of how much work goes into keeping our roads safe for both drivers and pedestrians.”

Re:act Founder and Executive Director Andrew Hardwick said the Re:act campaigns are unique.

“They are not just about education but also about creating a platform for young voices to be heard and to contribute meaningfully to road safety. It’s exciting as this year’s program will bring 17-25- year-olds together with government and industry through a campaign and a series of events. The meetings will allow young Australians to share how they prefer to receive information and to actively influence road safety campaigns, even in workplace settings.”

Young Australians are over-represented in road trauma, with one of the highest fatality and injury rates among all age groups. In 2022, the fatality rate was 75% above the average.

Distraction caused by mobile phones among 17-25-year-olds is a serious issue. For example¹:

It can be as risky as drink driving.
Increases your risk of crashing by four times and, if you are texting, 10
Slows reaction time by 50 percent; looking away from the road for 2 seconds at 100kmh means the driver is distracted for 55 metres.
For pedestrians, research has shown almost a third (30 percent) of 18-30-year-olds have texted or accessed the internet on their smartphones while crossing the road at least once a week.
About 12 percent of Australian pedestrians killed in 2021 were aged 17-25.

For further information visit reactforchange.org

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1. State road safety partners, MUARC, BITRE