22 November 2011

Launch of Online Road Safety Film 'Loaded Weapon'

Dublin, 22 November 2011: The Road Safety Authority (RSA) and Setanta Insurance Services Limited have launched a new road safety online short film called ‘Loaded Weapon’ on YouTube, which uses the metaphor of a loaded gun to illustrate the often reckless and irresponsible behaviour of young drivers. The film has already been viewed on YouTube almost 24,000 times.

The script for ‘Loaded Weapon’ was developed by Richard Lahart, an undergraduate science student in University College Cork (UCC), and was the winning entry in the RSA and Setanta Insurance’s road safety competition, ‘Keep Drama off the Roads’.

The action in Richard’s script focuses on a group of young male friends as they go for a drive at night. Slowly, and ominously, it begins to become clear that their behaviour in the car is very reckless – and that every time the young men do something reckless: almost hitting a cyclist, going too fast or unbuckling their seat belt, a gun is revealed. The film ends with a crash accompanied by a gunshot. Through the use of gun imagery, the message is very clear: “Your car is a loaded weapon. And everyone in it has their finger on the trigger.”

 

The film reminds us of the potentially fatal consequences of driving a car, and asks us to treat driving with the respect it deserves. But it also tells us that keeping our roads safe is a responsibility each and every one of us shares, including passengers.

Mr Noel Brett Chief Executive, Road Safety Authority said: “It’s a sad fact but young people, particularly young males, are most at risk of dying on our roads. We wanted to come up with a new way of getting into the minds of this vulnerable group of road-users, using a medium with which they are familiar and in a way that will get their attention. What’s unique about this film is that it was developed from an idea a young student came up with to tackle the culture of speed and dangerous driving among his peers.”

“‘Loaded Weapon’ encourages young people to understand the risks associated with driving dangerously and to look after each other by either speaking up or resisting peer pressure to take risks behind the wheel. It’s engaging, challenging and provocative and reminds us all that a car is essentially a loaded weapon and driving should be treated with the respect it deserves.”

Mr John Beatty, Setanta Insurance said: “The competition invited young people aged between 17 and 25 to come up with a short film script to address the theme of ‘breaking the culture of dangerous driving’. We wanted young people to talk to us about how they see dangerous driving among their peer group and come up with ways to address it in a way that’s relevant to them. The winning entry, ‘Loaded Weapon’, is engaging, challenging and provocative and really shows that young people are thinking about road safety and how it affects them and their peers.”

 The short film ‘Loaded Weapon’ is currently being shown on YouTube at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M2A56vvTk4 

 For media queries, please contact:

 RSA Communications Office: 096 25008

Or

Ciara Lee, Setanta Insurance Services Limited: 01-8991820