Traffic law-breaking, such as speeding and drink driving, is rising. As such, more people are now concerned about others texting while driving and the impact of this on overall road safety. The International Automobile Federation (FIA) seeks to improve road safety with its #3500Lives campaign. Its main message is, ‘Sign Up, Stay Safe, Save Lives.’

In 2016, 7,000 drivers were surveyed for the annual Report on Motoring, which shows 41% of drivers used handheld phones for talking calls, texting or accessing the internet, 7% more than in 2015. Additionally, 13% said phone use by other drivers was their main concern while driving and 14% used their phones to take photos or make videos while driving.

The Department of Transport reports, “There has been a statistically significant increase in the number of people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents between the years ending September 2015 and 2016.” A total of 25,160 people were killed or seriously injured in the year ending September 2016. The most affected by road crashes is the population between 15-29 years old.

Being the top authority in motor sport, the FIA decided to raise awareness on road safety. It wanted a dynamic campaign speaking directly to this age group. Addison Group, an agency of WPP communications and creative network, designed #3500Lives. It consists of a manifesto of 10 simple road safety rules that were made into pictures and videos of celebrities giving advice to drivers to improve their road safety awareness. The videos and banners are advertised by ambassadors like F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, as well as sports personalities Rafael Nadal and Yohan Blake and available on social networks and the FIA’s website. Addison Group developed the name, visual identity, and marketing strategy for the campaign.

The campaign has been so successful that in two months the hashtag reached more than 65m views and JCDecaux provided unused advertising space around the world to serve the cause.