The Daily Telegraph – Wednesday 29 September 2004

Fast car ads ‘irresponsible’

By SIMON WHEELER

ROAD safety campaigners have slammed high-octane car TV ads on our screens,

saying they promote “irresponsible” driving.

A day after The Daily Telegraph launched its bid to cut road deaths among young drivers, watchdogs have blasted motor manufacturers for encouraging fast driving in their ads.

Campaigner group the Pedestrian Council said the companies were ignoring guidelines which stated what kind of images could be shown on TV.

Among the ads Pedestrian Council chairman Harold Scruby finds most offensive is one for the Holden Commodore where a man drives down the road with his son strapped in on the back seat, smiling as he revs the engine.

Mr Scruby said: “They're using subliminal affects to get around the code, which clearly prohibits cars speeding.

“Yet this whole advert, especially the audio of the engine revving, is designed to show the car speeding.

“The worst part is the child smiling in the back of the car while his dad revs the engine. What a shocking image.” Others Mr Scruby believes are irresponsible include those for the BMW Mini, the Toyota Camry Sportivo and the Mitsubishi Magna.

He also dislikes a Mercedes ad which shows two Buddhist monks driving in a pair of Mercs who can't resist showing off their unexpected skills behind the wheel.

Mr Scruby said: “Firstly, they overtake a motorbike without indicating then they start doing very sharp turns.

“Mercedes are supposed to be one of the safest cars on the road so why don't they focus on things like air bags and other safety features? Here, Mercedes ignore safety and promote cavalier driving.”

Caption:  Dust up ... speed is promoted in TV ads Blast .. such images anger campaigners