News
Our view about the New Zealand Transport advert regarding teen drivers
The advert “The Unsell” plays on Television at all hours of the Day and Night and depicts a car yard where three families are searching to buy a car for their teen , the scenario is centered on the car safety where “the salesperson” who is supposed to be former first res ponders and a panel beater who talk the buyer out of the sale based on the safety of the car .
So a few things are wrong with this advert .
Little thought is given to the viewer who has lost a loved one in a car accident they would be diving for for the remote not wishing to be reminded about being “turned inside out” or having their “neck snapped ” as is stated in the grotesque advert .
Secondly NZTA have crucified the car industry to make their point this is totally unjust
There are 1.49 million cars in NZ deemed to be under a two star safety rating , they have survived quite nicely up to now being driven by multiple owners of all ages , but apparently according to the NZTA are not suitable for the modern day teen as a driver between the ages of 15-24 are twice as likely to have an accident .
The same principle as a gun is as safe as the owner is , it also applies that its not the car its the driver
Here are the death toll Statistics for 2016
In 2016 325 people died on NZ roads
75 accidents causing death involved trucks (23%) of the road toll , 17 accidents resulting in death were caused by Diverted attention (5%), 80 accidents resulting in death caused by Alcohol or Drugs (28%) , 28 accidents resulting in deaths were caused by fatigue (8%)
67 accidents resulting in death were caused by young drivers aged 15-24 (20%) of the road toll
Of these 325 persons 25 were Pedestrians (7% ) 5 cyclists (1%) and 52 motorcyclists (16%) were killed on NZ roads Agreed our road toll is bad given that we have a population of under 5 million , The road toll in France based on (2016) figures is less than ours with their population being 67 million .
We see that many of the crashes where young lives are lost are drivers fleeing the Police , driving cars that have been extensively modified and speed were just some of the contributors . Where are the statistics that should have been in the advert ? they just assume that we will believe because they are the NZTA .
NZTA and the Police have focused on the Teen Driver adverts before , Indeed if teen drivers are the problem at 20% then surely more education and a better system for drivers licensing is needed . How is it the teen can learn to drive in a one / two star car at driving schools but its suddenly not suitable to own once they are licensed .
If the NZTA and Police were really concerned about safety and the rising road toll leave the car dealers and the safety of the car out of it that’s just a distraction , take a good long look at Road barriers between opposing lanes . Put a time limit on learners and restricted licence . Address the kiwi bad driving culture and distractions from cellphones .
But according to the NZTA its OK for an electric scooter to travel at 27km per hour on the footpath ! while the rider has no helmet and little or no regard for pedestrians
What safety rating do those scooters have ?
Jack and Marguerite Plowman
