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Controversial campaign back for third year

The controversial For my girlfriend TM (FMG) young driver campaign will once again run across several areas of England during February 2006. As has been the case for the last three years, campaign activity will peak in the run-up to Valentines Day.

FMG confronts young male drivers with the prospect of killing their girlfriend while they are driving too fast. The 2006 campaign comprises a Valentine card, and a poster that will appear in male washrooms in pubs and nightclubs.

The Valentine card arrives in a sealed envelope with the words 'For my Valentine' apparently hand written on it. Inside the message is: 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to kill you. I was driving too fast'.

The card is being distributed via educational establishments, nightclubs and pubs, and other places where young people are found in numbers.

The Valentine card has been used for the past two years, and has proved controversial in some quarters. "Young drivers are particularly tough to get road safety messages to," said Sally Bartrum, FMG campaign coordinator. "The card has been tested among young people and, while they did not like it, they admitted it had impact and made them think."

The campaign poster features a picture of a girl in a crashed car surrounded by members of the emergency services. The headline says: 'If you don't like this many blokes round your girlfriend - slow down'.

The posters will appear in gents' toilets in clubs, pubs and bars, and other places where the Valentine card is being distributed.

Road safety teams from the following local authorities are participating in the February 2006 campaign: Bracknell Forest; Buckinghamshire; Cambridgeshire; Essex; Greenwich; Hertfordshire; Luton; Milton Keynes; Norfolk; Oxfordshire; Peterborough; Reading; Windsor & Maidenhead; Slough; Somerset; South Gloucestershire; Suffolk; Thurrock; West Berkshire; Wirral; and Wokingham.

Safety camera partnerships covering Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Hertfordshire, Kent & Medway, and Sussex are also participating in the campaign.

For further information about FMG visit www.fmg.co.uk , or contact Sally Bartrum on 01379 650112, or sbartrum@stennik.com.