Dickhead Driving Campaign

I’ve blogged before about my belief that the ‘shock and awe’ trend in Victorian Transport Accident Commission (TAC) advertisements over recent years is not likely to lead to improved road safety.  You don’t teach people by trying to scare the hell out of them; it wouldn’t be all that ethical if you even tried it! Education is the key.

And the latest cool campaign coming out of some ad agency (your taxes at work) with the radical punchline: ‘Dont be A Dickhead..’  is hardly likely to be any more effective, even with some gratuitous references to Twitter and Facebook thrown in.

What  was more interesting to me was to see the campaign derided by opposition politicians in terms of the effect it might have on teachers trying to maintain respect and stability in the classroom.

One report in the media today said:

Opposition Transport spokesman Terry Mulder slammed the campaign for undermining the Brumby government’s much-hyped Respect campaign.

“It is appalling. Would John Brumby use that language when he is addressing a group of school children?” he said.

“It makes an absolute mockery of John Brumby’s Respect Agenda. It is shocking message one of the worst I have ever heard.”

and this from another politician:

Family First Senator Steve Fielding warned the ad campaign will make parents and teacher’s jobs much harder.

“Parents already face an up hill battle trying to stop their young kids from swearing and these ads make this job even tougher,” Senator Fielding said.

“I think the person who approved these ads has been watching too much of Gordon Ramsay.”

Mr Fielding says some common sense needs to be used in sending out road safety message.

I have some sympathy for that viewpoint. I remember once upon a time telling kids they shouldn’t say ‘bugger’ in class, until it featured as the punchline in a series of ads so memorable that I’ve forgotten what they were advertising. And I still caution students about language like ‘shit’ in classroom contexts. I wouldn’t be happy if a student in my class called another one (or me) a dickhead. And that is now more likely, no doubt. So, if it’s not going to help road safety (and it’s not) then it’s just an unhelpful waste of money.

Still, if politicians and media commentators really wanted to help out the struggling teacher at the chalkface by the good example they bring, there’s plenty more they could actively do to make that job easier, beginning with getting rid of the abuse, bullying and name-calling that constitutes debate in our Parliament.

Here’s one of the ads. There’s more on the VicRoads YouTube Channel.