How to Avoid Collisions

By Tom Hickmore

In this newsletter I’m revisiting a recent project designed to reduce collisions in a bus fleet by influencing behaviour with video drama.

The Brief

Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus were interested in some video content to help reduce the incidence of collisions. The aim was to reduce the incidence of avoidable collisions by 10%, and reduce unrecoverable vehicle collision costs by 10% year-on-year. Success would be measured by the collision figures before and after implementation of the initiative, combined with qualitative feedback.

Their research had identified the five common causes of collisions: distractions, complacency, impatience, frustration and overconfidence. Our approach was conceived as supporting drivers to make better decisions by getting them to focus on the causes of and issues around these 5 factors.

The Proposal

We proposed five short, memorable videos, each focusing on one of the 5 main causes of collisions. The client wanted videos to be used during driver training and periodically shared on internal channels to reinforce the messaging.

We suggested going further and making this into a Drama for Change project, beefing up the campaign elements of the initiative. This is based on our belief that informal discussion of an issue is a powerful motor to change mindset and culture, and a campaign based around video dramas is ideal for this purpose. Accordingly, the project assets now included a Teaser video, “Gogglebus” videos (more of this later) and various promotional elements designed by the client team.

Start by Listening

Our first task was to talk to the drivers in focus groups. This allowed us to understand the challenges from the drivers’ perspective. A strong theme emerged to do with the tension between serving customers and focusing on the road. This makes sense as any social interaction demands a lot of processing power from your prefrontal cortex. An example is a driver facing an obstacle in the road with restive passengers making a fuss. The pressure can seem immense to push through the gap, but safety must come first.

Larger than Life

Our videos featured a fictional driver. A larger-than-life, over-confident, but likeable buffoon, who enjoys telling others how to drive, even though it’s clear he’s not the best role model. We called the series Drive Like Dom. Dom tells us how to avoid collisions, but his suggestions are clearly questionable, and it’s fun to point out his hubris.

Imagining the Worst

In driver training the videos provide excellent stimulus for discussion of the application of important principles of best practice. In general, scenario training is particularly useful in training people for situations in which rules are not as useful as guidelines and principles to inform judgement. It’s important for people to be able to test out the principles in imagined, but realistic scenarios. You don’t need sensory immersion for this kind of learning, but conceptual and emotional immersion for which drama is ideal.

Distribution

For existing staff, the videos have been released on the internal social media platform, Blink, where they have attracted a minimum engagement level of 85%. The videos have been designed not to instruct, but to stimulate questions. Management can see the comments that follow a video and join it. It’s already clear that the debate around safety issues is being informed by the agenda of our videos.

The videos suggest answers, but in such a way that invites the opinion of the viewer. The act of discussion is the motor of change. Active thought about an issue, moderated by colleagues and management are all it takes to change the accepted mindset.

Gogglebus!

Still to be released are a further set of 5 videos featuring colleagues reacting to the drama clips in the style of the TV show Gogglebox. We called it ‘Gogglebus’. The spontaneous, thoughtful, and humorous commentary is a lot of fun. It feeds the wisdom of more seasoned drivers into the discussion. Whenever I’ve shown these to anyone in management, they can immediately see the potential. They are so engaging and on the money.

Watch this space where I expect to write more about this project as the feedback and stats become clear.

What do you think of our Gogglebus idea?