MU students take lead in national road safety campaign

Three postgraduate students from Maynooth University (MU) have won the overall prize in an Garda Síochána’s Road Safety Reimagined campaign, highlighting the dangers of drug driving.
 
The marketing competition, organised in conjunction with the University of Limerick (UL), saw Maynooth University master’s students from the School of Business develop the winning concept ‘Chances of you getting home safe aren’t as high as you are’.
 
Their campaign concept utilises imagery of a dice (pictured) to underscore the unpredictable dangers of drug driving. Members of the MU team include; Klaudia Pasternak, Victory Omorodion, Saoirse Smith, Eamonn Kane, and Elizabeth Imole.
  
Victory Omorodion, a member of the MU team, said: “We tried to emphasise the serious and potentially life-threatening implications of reckless driving by juxtaposing the concept of being ‘high’ with the sombre reality of drug driving. We hope it will act as a warning to make responsible decisions for your own safety and the well-being of others.”
 

 Dr Gillian Moran, School of Business, expressed her pride in her students' involvement in the campaign, recognising the potential impact of their creative endeavours in saving lives.  “My students were delighted to be involved in this national campaign, where their creative ideas may ultimately have an impact on saving lives. They, along with their friends and peers, are in the target market of 18- to 25-year-olds so this campaign connected with them in a very real way.”
 
With drink driving, drug driving and speeding identified as among the primary causes of serious collisions on roads, students were tasked with reimagining road safety through contemporary marketing concepts and developing solutions to positively affect driving behaviour.

In total seven groups won in categories including “most visually appealing” and “outside the box”. The successful students will all benefit from the expertise of An Garda Síochána in the final execution of their ideas for national campaigns. Last year all winning concepts were used for Garda press events. More than 800 students across Ireland have engaged in a potentially lifesaving project as part of the Road Safety Reimagined initiative.
 
Road Safety Reimagined is a collaborative project between University of Limerick, An Garda Síochána, South East Technological University, Maynooth University and Limerick City and Council.