- Ten pieces of top tier coverage
- Three broadcast interviews including LBC
- More than 45 pieces of coverage across print and digital
- Coverage highlights: The Telegraph, The Times, The Independent and The Mirror
The campaign
If you break down on a smart motorway, you are three times more likely to be killed than on motorway with a hard shoulder [National Highways].
Road safety organisation IAM RoadSmart wanted to raise brand awareness, educate the public on road signage, and urge the government to consider decommissioning smart motorways.
The Red X on an overhead gantry is often used to close lanes on a smart motorway when an obstruction such as a broken-down vehicle is detected in the road ahead. Closed lanes are also used by the emergency services attending those who might need urgent assistance at the incident in question.
The research team conducted a Freedom of Information investigation looking at the number of motorists who continued to drive in a lane once it had been closed. The research was used the generate the press release: Record number of drivers caught ignoring Red X signs on smart motorways. I also engaged with independent road safety campaigner Meera Naran MBE, whose 8-year-old son Dev died in a smart motorway collision on the M6 in 2018. She provided a quote for the release emphasising the importance of obeying the signs.
This release was shared with contacts like PA newswire, securing more than 45 pieces of coverage.
Click on the links below to read some of the coverage:
Harriet Hernando PR 