Valentine card campaign will make young drivers think

A thought provoking road safety campaign aimed at young drivers will run across eastern England in the run up to Valentines Day on 14 February.

Teams from six local authorities are once again jointly presenting the ‘For my girlfriend’ campaign that ran successfully in 2002 and 2003. The six authorities are the county councils of Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk, plus Luton Borough Council, Peterborough City Council and Thurrock Council.

The campaign features a Valentine Card in a sealed envelope with the words ‘For my Valentine’ apparently hand-written on it. The card carries the same message on the front but inside the message is: ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to kill you. I was driving too fast’. The text is accompanied by a picture of a wrecked car.

The card is being distributed with the help of sixth form centres, colleges and universities, nightclubs and pubs, leisure centres and major employers – places where young people are likely to be found in significant numbers.

Young driver research conducted in the eastern region in 2000 confirmed that young drivers – especially young males – find it almost impossible to imagine killing or injuring themselves in a road crash.

The study also revealed that the outcome they dread most is killing or maiming someone they are close to – possibly a girlfriend or best mate – who is travelling in a car driven by them. This outcome is considered worse than killing or injuring a pedestrian (even a child) or an unknown third party. The ‘For my girlfriend’ campaign plays on this emotional vulnerability in a bid to make young drivers consider this awful prospect.

The Valentine card has raised a few eyebrows. "We recognise that the card is powerful and may upset some people," said Sally Bartrum, campaign co-ordinator. "But we tested it among people in the target age group and while they didn’t like it they admitted it made them stop and think. This is a particularly tough audience to get through to and there’s no point in producing material that has no effect. We think the card brings home the potentially terrible consequences of driving too fast."

For further information about For my girlfriend visit the campaign website www.formygirlfriend.co.uk or contact Sally Bartrum on 01379 650112 or sbartrum@stennik.com.