11 December 2018
The AA Trust has been awarded a prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for ten years of innovative road safety campaigns.
The award was presented at a ceremony at The Savoy, London, on 11 December by HRH Prince Michael of Kent.
In the ten years that The AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety and The Environment has been running it has funded hundreds of thousands of pounds’ worth of driver improvement courses targeting:
- Young drivers (Drive Smart)
- Nervous drivers (Drive Confident)
- Motorway driving skills (Drive Motorway)
- Electric vehicle driving (Drive Electric)
It has also run a number of award-winning* road safety campaigns including:
Think Bikes, which launched in 2013, was born out of a simple idea from the AA Patrol of the Year to distribute simple line drawing stickers to remind drivers to do a double take in their mirrors for those on two wheels. It was rolled out internationally through the FIA to motoring clubs from Iceland to Iran.
Designated Driver and Driver Distraction were similarly successful; winning backing and funding from the Department for Transport so the campaign advert could be shown in cinemas across the UK. One year after the campaigns were launched there was nearly a 50 per cent drop in the number of fixed penalty notices handed to drivers for mobile phone offences.
Honoured
Edmund King, Director of the AA Trust, said: “We are honoured to receive this Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.
“Over the last ten years the AA Trust has delivered a range of imaginative campaigns that have tackled some of the biggest safety issues on our roads.
“Since the AA Charitable Trust was founded, we have seen many changes to our roads, such as smart motorways, increasing traffic volumes and worsening road conditions.
“We have tried to ensure that we have always supported the UK’s drivers through the changes of the last ten years with our courses and campaigns.”
We have tried to ensure that we have always supported the UK’s drivers through the changes of the last ten years with our courses and campaigns
HRH Prince Michael of Kent said: “The AA Charitable Trust’s contribution has been significant and I am grateful for its commitment and initiative.’
The AA Charitable Trust’s contribution has been significant and I am grateful for its commitment and initiative
Drive Motorway courses for new drivers
Earlier this year, the Trust announced £20,000 worth of free Drive Motorway courses, specifically aimed at helping new drivers who missed the chance to take lessons on the motorway, the opportunity to receive professional motorway driving tuition*.
Drowsy drivers
And a new campaign tackling drowsy drivers was launched last month. The latest road casualty statistics show drowsy drivers contributed to 53 fatal and 351 serious crashes in 2017[1]. It is widely accepted the true figure for fatigue related crashes is much higher due to under-reporting. In fact, it is estimated that up to 25 per cent of fatal accidents are caused by drivers who have fallen asleep at the wheel.
The campaign features a thought-provoking advert, created by adam&eveDDB, designed to wake drivers up to the dangers of fatigue. The ad shows a driver on a monotonous stretch of road at night. Various relaxation techniques are applied to him by a team of masseurs in a surreal representation of how tiredness can ambush drivers. The ending snaps back to reality with a wide shot of the car, the driver asleep, no masseurs inside, veering to one side over the crest of a hill with oncoming headlights.
*AA Trust campaigns have won awards including:
- Winner FIA Innovation Award 2014
- Cycling Media Awards nominee for best campaign 2014
- Winner PRCA Automotive award 2015
- Tony Rich received the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme Road Safety Award 2015 for Think Bikes
- Winner ACFO Fleet Safety Initiative of the Year 2014
- Think Bikes video shown at transport meeting of the United Nations
- Winner Prince Michael International Road Safety Award 2012 (Drive Confident)
**To apply for a free 'Drive Motorway' course please visit the AA Driving School's facebook page and click 'send message'.
Please include the following in your message:
- your name
- contact details
- postcode
- year you passed test
- preferred time/date of lesson, and
- vehicle transmission type (manual/automatic)
