road safety
VRT and Pommelien Thijs are launching a campaign to warn about the dangers of mobile phone use in traffic. The singer releases a new song with a video clip.
“The best is yet to come,” is the message in the new awareness campaign by the VRT and the Flemish government. It wants to make everyone aware of the dangers of mobile phone use in traffic. Singer and actress Pommelien Thijs is the figurehead of the campaign. She wrote a song especially for the occasion, including an accompanying video clip.
The video shows a cycling girl (played by Thijs) who is busy on her smartphone and is suddenly hit by a car. After the accident, she sees special moments that she could have experienced if she had not looked at her phone, events that she will never experience again. Ultimately she dies on the cold asphalt. The message is clear: “Don’t let your mobile phone steal your future.”
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Also on the bike
“I’m not telling anything new,” says Thijs. “Everyone knows that you are not allowed to use your mobile phone in traffic. And yet it keeps happening. The campaign is a reminder to all generations, young and old, to leave their devices aside when in traffic.”
Campaigns against cell phone use in the car are ubiquitous, but awareness for cyclists is also important, Thijs believes. “Many people feel that they are only responsible for themselves when cycling and can then be a little more nonchalant. But even then a traffic accident changes your entire life. I hope that people consider their own lives enough to be safe in traffic. But the click may be easier to make if you are responsible for passengers, such as in the car.”
Pinky promise
On the site hetbestemoetnogkomen.be, anyone can promise not to use their phone in traffic. “The campaign is an invitation to reflect on the special moments that you are still looking forward to so much. It is not worth missing it due to unsafe use of your mobile phone,” the actress continues. “The intention is that after watching or listening to the song, people promise to each other, or to themselves, that they will be safer on the road.”
“I got the idea for the campaign image while on holiday with friends. They made a pinky promise in the backseat of the car. I immediately took a photo of it and then drew it as a campaign image. The gesture is a nice sign to make it clear that you physically promise your loved ones not to use your phone in traffic anymore,” Thijs concludes.
