September 2001 Volume 82 Number 9 "serving the protectors"
By Trevor Haskell PASA Vice President

Fast Cars

Fast Cars You got a fast car,
but is it fast enough so we can fly away
Tracy Chapman’s song, Fast Car, said much in 1988.

For many, the car is more than just a means of conveyance. It is an object that may say something of the owner. The image of the owner might be reflected in his or her car. Is the car my chance to get out of the day-to-day drudgery into a different and exciting place?

This is what the advertising people try to work on with their adverts, both on television and in print. It is no coincidence that the financial pages of The Advertiser have adverts for Mercs, BMWs and SAABs that link to images of success. The advertising people do their job very well. They create very powerful images to sell their wares, and they know what they are doing.

When I wore a younger man’s clothes, there was a move in the car industry toward muscle cars - the Ford HO, the Charger, the Monaro and Torana. The advertising people were out of control, trying to outdo each other on selling the fastest, quickest and slipperiest car through the curves. Everyone could be Allan Moffatt or Peter Brock. Buy the car and let it rip was the basic message.

Those of us who couldn’t afford the latest fast car bought old cars to make them faster. They said something of us. The car was the image and every young person (man in particular) needed an image car. How I loved my royal blue, metal-flaked VW beach buggy, with its cut down frame, seven-inch wheels and specialized exhaust system.

Even for the freedom days of the ’70s, the focus on the car as a power-and-speed image got a bit much. The cars had a tendency to hit things because the drivers were not quite up to the pace in many instances. In those days, there was regulation on advertising and the powers-that-be enforced a moderated standard of practice. The ads were moderated and promoted the non-lethal use of the cars. A blowout in petrol prices also assisted in the demise of the gas-guzzling muscle cars.

Safety and economy became the focus. But, today, all cars are safer and all have 16 cup-holders and other niceties. What image will sell in our “I” society?

Today, we are much more aware of road safety. The government spends millions on promoting responsible driving. The police have a road safety profile that is very significant. All of today’s cars can go fast enough to kill and maim. Most cars can reach speeds that were never contemplated in the ’70s.

Take the time when watching television to consider the car adverts. While there are the clever and quirky ones that get your attention, there is a growing number that are about using the car as a dangerous weapon.

Not only have they reverted to selling speed and push-to-the-limit cornering, they have taken to the four-wheel-drive vehicles like crazy. How to bash the bush is an underpinning theme of many four-wheel-drive ads. A more recent move is an acknowledgment that most of the owners will never be “off-road”. Being promoted now is driving like maniacs through school yards or over roundabouts.

They promote the idea that “you can own the road or the outback”. That, in your car, you are in control - you can do whatever you like. And hasn’t their push for self-centred driving been effective.

The “I” mentality - that is so well sold by advertisers - is reflected in the driving behaviours of the new breed of “up-market” driving hoon. Often on the phone, they are rude, speeding, lane-swapping, tailgating, insular collisions waiting to happen. Red lights are for other people to obey. Their driver training and skills are marginal but, don’t worry, the car makes up for it all. Everybody is a driving ace and everybody can race about the bush - even in his or her evening finery. Yes, our cars are safer than ever, but I suspect the crash rates are not reducing. Irresponsible advertising? Whose responsibility?

As in the ’70s, the impressionable youth are having fast driving and quick cornering emphasized as what driving a car is all about. They want to test themselves against others and the images on the adverts. We older types relate to the image often without any idea of putting it into action - but we want to look like we could out-run and out-drive anybody. However, we know we can’t.

Where is the government leadership? An unregulated advertising world is promoting unsafe roads. It is costing lives. Let the market rule - let the emergency services pick up the pieces. Damn the cost to society.

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