We belong to the generation that wants to decrease mortality statistics for traffic accidents. Having observed the existence of kerchief as a symbol of belonging to an ideological group, we consider that we could identify those people who share our ideas about road safety. After having identified the problem we decided to create the fluo kerchief; that color was chosen for being the reglementary vest that all the drivers must have. We also decided to create and distribute objects with messages that help become aware before performing a foolhardy action.
Tes Idées
We investigated the statistics of traffic accidents of the last years in our country, Argentina. We were surprised by how little the figure improve: there were 100 dead and 200 seriously injured per week, and it get worse all the time.
We also investigated in the traffic accidents section of the main newspapers of our country, Argentina. We noticed that the most recurrent news was about:
- Child mortality and pets for asphyxiation or hypothermia
- Dead for driving under the effects of alcohol
- Every time the use of safety belt is lower
- The unaware use of the phone at the wheel
- The ignorance of the correct use of baby car seats
- And more detailed topics in the document attached
We did a survey to measure the incidence of risky behaviors among 60 people, which resulted in the following:
- 20% of respondents were fined for speeding.
- 25% would have a beer, but then have to drive.
- 29% use or misuse the cell phone while driving, even in hands-free mode.
- 43% have had a traffic accident.
- 43% know of the correct use of the baby seat.
- 85% always use a seatbelt.
For this reason, we decided to create a movement called The Fluo Kerchief. We, The Fluo kerchief, are a group of people that share the objective of a world with “Zero” accidents and therefore we want to promote good driving habits. The problems that were identified by us and affect too many drivers that are driving in the street stands between us and our objective.
Tes initiatives
We think that people would like to belong to the group of responsible drivers that we identify with the fluo handkerchief that will be delivered during the science and technology fair 2019 edition, which will take place from September 23rd to 27th.
One question that we asked ourselves was: How do we insure that our handkerchief is unique? We decided to include a QR code printed on the handkerchief, which being scanned shows the data of the person who bought it. In this way we insure that no non-originals copies of the product are created.
This handkerchief can be granted when it is certified that any infringement has not been committed in the last twelve months. If the person doesn't have the driving record, he must successfully carry out the theoretical driving test in his respective territory. In our case, this exam will be carried out through the web page testdeconducir.com.ar and the fines will be known through the national identity document. Those data will be recorded in a database of our website, where we also conduct surveys to obtain statistics.
Besides we believe that if people become aware before performing a reckless act, deaths and accidents could be prevented. Therefore, and taking into account the questions aforementioned, we seek to remind people irresponsible behaviors can cause irreparable damage, which could be easily avoidable if they become aware of the impact their choices might have. We thought that subtle messages in some objects could have this powerful reminder effect and we decided to create these objects.
- Bottle Opener: You are at a party, with a girl or a boy and about to open a beer, when you remember that in your pocket you have a bottle opener. At the moment of opening the bottle you see on the bottle opener a message that says “The car or me?”.
- Key Ring: You have just sat in the car, you´re turn the key to start the car up, and you see the DARS keychain: in that moment you realize that you have not put the seatbelt on yet.
- Cell Phone Case: You are driving when you get a message, you grab the cell phone to answer and you see the printing on the case that says “Do you have to answer right now?”
- Baby Ribbon: You are about to put your baby in the baby seat and put the pacifier in order to stop him/her crying, when you see that the pacifier has a ribbon that says “You could not travel with baby on?”
- Device: It is a device that has the objective to generate good driving habits, providing tools to make the person a more responsible driver. One of its main functionalities is to low down the windows in case there is someone locked and warn you.
In addition of the these objects that we have created for our awareness campaign, we created other marketing products and a website as part of the project.
These products are:
- Stickers and badges to promote our campaign.
- Website: Everyone who accesses it will have information about the campaign, all audiovisual material, news about the project, a contact section. It is also a meeting point for identification of all those fluo handkerchief.
- Video: It is a small short film in which we show the risks associated to the use of cell phone while driving.
We have made prototypes of these objects with these messages and we showed them to approximately thirty persons to get their feedback and it was very positive, they loved it and encouraged us to move on. Therefore, for science and technology day fair 2019 edition we will show the products. We have planned a production of: 10000 units of handkerchiefs, the total cost is 100 american dollars, 1200 units of mobile phone cases with a cost of 50 american dollars, 100 bottle openers with a cost of 50 american dollars, 100 baby ribbons with a cost of 50 dollars and a fully functional device with a cost of 150 american dollars.
