Students in safe texting message
THREE talented Edge Hill University graduates who masterminded Arrive Alive, a don’t text and drive campaign have seen their ideas come to life across Lancashire.
Designed to appeal to younger drivers, Arrive Alive images have gone on display on roads and in town centres across the region as part of National Phone Awareness Week.
The campaign, devised by business school graduates James McGarrie, Mark Williams and Alice Stockton, was chosen by Lancashire Road Safety Partnership (LRSP) and is running across Lancashire’s police and fire and rescue services, councils and Highways England.
LRSP co-ordinator Rhiannon Leeds said: “You’re four times more likely to be involved in a collision if you use your mobile phone while driving.
“We wanted to work with Edge Hill students to see if they could devise a campaign to appeal to their peers and we’re delighted that we’ve been able to reproduce Arrive Alive.”
The project arose after marketing and society module leader, Dr Susie Marriott, discussed current social issues with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer Chris Kenny, who highlighted the impact on the emergency services of texting while driving.
Marketing and digital communications graduate Mark Williams said: “This project followed months of theory and allowed us to bring all our knowledge together into a ‘real life’ campaign.
“We took inspiration from things that appeal to young people to make it relatable, the alliteration, font, colours. The shattered letters are meant to look like a broken phone screen. We wanted the black and white images to look surreal as if they’re a memory.
“They don’t show the crash, just the car heading towards a person/car with the phone and the text conversation centre stage.”
James McGarrie, a business innovation and enterprise graduate, added: “It’s amazing to see the campaign come to life through banners, Gifs and across social media. I loved studying at Edge Hill and this campaign has been something tangible that I’ve been able to add to my CV. Now it’s live, we should be able to prove its reach and impact.”
Lancashire Fire and Rescue’s Ormskirk crew manager, Graeme Spencer, said: “We’ve seen a rise in road traffic collisions related to mobile phone use.
“As a crew, we cover a large rural area with lots of unlit and potentially dangerous minor roads. With a large student population in Ormskirk, we’re very happy to support this campaign in the hope it saves lives.”