THINK! Driving Challenge
June 16th, 2008
I received an e-mail from the team at AMV BBDO about the THINK! Driving Challenge which I wanted to share with all of you.
It is a website which demonstrates just how difficult it is to talk on the mobile phone whilst driving: an issue which is quite close to my heart. Last year I was crossing at a crossroads: opposite was a stationary car. The driver was obviously distracted for some reason and moved off harshly whilst we were crossing. Thankfully she stopped the car a few inches before she knocked us out.
Anyway, give it a go before you proceed any further down the post so it’s not spoilt for you!
Nicola Davies writes:
Just over a year on from the introduction of the tough new penalty of three penalty points and a £60 fine for using a mobile phone whilst driving, the Driving Challenge directly builds upon a film made by the University of Illinois 10 years ago which demonstrates the psychological principle of ‘inattentional blindness’.
I wrote about a gorilla/basketball video several years ago which demonstrated this inattentional blindness.
Credits:
Client: Department for Transport
Agency: AMV BBDO
Creative: Gary Hoff, Stuart Woodall, Sean Vrabel
Account Management: Kate Gault, Giovanna Cucchi, Olivia Browne
Digital Producer: Nicola Davies
Web Production: iCG
Film Production: Brick and Pin
Director: Richard Topping
Exposure: Online
About the Author: Hi! I'm Ken. I've been using mobiles for over 10 years and technology for a lot longer! I'd love to hear from you.
I was counting and pressing the space bar, and I thought ‘Is that someone in a rabbit costume?’ I totally didn’t notice it stand in the middle of the street and wave though!
That’s a really good way of raising awareness of how easily distracted mobile phones can be when driving.
Sorry, just wanted to comment on the ‘DoTheTest’ things that Transport for London have done on YouTube (http://uk.youtube.com/user/dothetest). Quite scary doing them without realising what’s going on right in front of your eyes.