The Campaign

People are unaware of the dangers associated with low level speeding (eg. travelling 1-9 kms over the speed limit). As a result, speed continued to be the number one killer on Victorian roads. Driving 5km over the speed limit doubles the risk of crashing. - Road Accident Research, University of Adelaide. Knowing this, we needed to encourage drivers to slow down and wipe 5 kilometres off their speed.

Results

A partnership with the Transport Accident Commission and the Australian Football League meant that our road safety message could be leveraged by Victoria’s biggest community. Starting with wiping the 5’s off the 50 meter arcs at every football match across the state, the campaign encouraged all Victorians to actively take collective responsibility for reducing speed and fatalities on Victorian roads.

The Transport Accident Commission teamed up with the Australian Football League to wipe off the 5 from the 50-meter arc to remind people to wipe off 5 km. The grounds were altered on every football field across the state, reaching Victorians at the game and millions more watching from home. This sparked an overwhelming reaction in the media, as it was the first time in history that on ground markings was altered. This saw football fans working together to wipe off 5 in their own community by submitting their ideas to reduce the toll on the Wipe off 5 website.

After the campaign, a record 88% of Victorians defined speeding as anything up to 5km over the speed limit. The number of Victorian drivers who claimed to exceed the speed limit all or most of the time decreased to 9% from 14% at the beginning of August, when the Wipe Off 5 campaign launched. Over 2,500 ideas to encourage the community to Wipe off 5 were collected on the website. There were 31,000 less speeding fines issued than the same time the previous year. In the 6 months that followed, Victoria’s road toll was at its lowest in 90 years.