Business students from the University of Limerick have been instrumental in creating new road safety messages as gardaí launch their St Brigid's Day road safety campaign today.
The students were asked to reimagine road safety and bring their thoughts and ideas to the campaign through contemporary marketing, which they believe would have a positive impact on young driver behaviour.
Two of the slogans focused on mobile phone use and people who drive while on drugs.
Student Gerard Hickey, who worked on the slogans, said taking drugs while driving "can destroy your life, that of your family".
"It is a stark message but an effective one," he added.
Fellow student Clodagh Houlihan said they decided to concentrate on the drug-driving message as a lot of the campaigns focus on gratuitous messages.
Another group worked on a slogan about using mobile phones while driving.
Using a sports concept, their message is 'Treat the road like a pitch — Focus on one Goal’.
Student Sarah Hogan explained: "Most young people can relate to playing sports on a pitch, it attracts all genders and ages, so we thought that a message related to that work would resonate with a lot of young people compared to the typical messages they get about road crashes, the blood, the drink, and the gore.
"They can all picture a pitch and what’s required when they play a match."
"Our message is you wouldn’t use your phone on the pitch. You have to focus on your goal, scoring and defending which is your priority, and you should have the same priority on the road where you need your full focus," she added.
Tara Holohan, who plays rugby and is young driver herself, said: "We believe that putting these two issues of the pitch and the phone together would resonate with young people, which is the market we are trying to target."
"By aiming for these goals of control, concentration and reaction they are making it safer to drive, for themselves and for those in the car with you," she said.
The students were speaking as gardaí began their bank holiday weekend road safety campaign which is focusing on four offences; drink driving, speeding, use of mobile phones and not wearing a seatbelt.
An extensive road policing operation got under way at 7am today and will be in place until Tuesday 6 February.
The risk of a fatal or serious road traffic incident is highest between 12pm and 3pm during bank holiday weekends and in particular on bank holiday Fridays.
The aged group most vulnerable is those between 16 and 25.
Eighteen people lost their lives in road traffic collisions in January including three young people last night when the car they were travelling in crashed in Co Carlow.
A fourth person was seriously injured.
During the St Brigid’s Day period last year, there were 2,700 detections of speeding, 255 drivers were found using a mobile phone and 80 seatbelt offences.
In addition, one person was killed and 16 others suffered serious injuries as a result of road traffic crashes during the weekend.
