After the last post about the culture of fear crap we have to put up with here in Copenhagen it was a pleasure to recieve a link to these posters from Tacoma, Washington and thanks to Nicholas for the heads up.
This campaign is an instant collectors item simply because it's so rare. Seriously. The number of safety/awareness/behavourial campaigns out there that speak to motorists like this is extremely low. And we're talking on a global scale. So it is refreshing and hopeful to see something like this.
With that said, I must admit that I favour a more direct messaging that spells it out in no uncertain terms that cars are dangerous and the cause of most of our urban problems. This Tacoma campaign is positive and its use of humour is commendable but it isn't really geared at getting people to change transport modes. By grabbing the bull by the cajones and yanking hard we will be able to affect behaviour more effectively and, in the process, speed the transformation to more liveable cities by branding car traffic in cities more negatively.
For the record, my favourite rational campaign is the No Ridiculous Car Trips one out of Malmö, Sweden. Let's not forget the always brilliant Hungarians. So far. I'm aching for new favourites.
The Drive Nice, Tacoma posters were spotted on the Tacoma Downtown website, run by the BIA.