The mere mention of photo radar can set motorists’ teeth gnashing, but what if a portion of the money collected from speeders went into a lottery for law-abiding drivers?
Meet the Speed Camera Lottery designed by Kevin Richardson: Senior Producer at Nickelodeon by day and innovative traffic controller by night.
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“All the attention seems to go on the bad apples – the people who are breaking the law – and there’s really no attention given to the people obeying the law,” said Richardson in an interview with the Star. “In fact, I would posit that obeying the law is a pretty lonely endeavour.”
Richardson’s speed camera photographs the licence plates of drivers doing the speed limit, as well as those who are speeding.
“The people who are obeying the law will have one of their licence plates pulled (in a lottery) and receive a portion of the money collected from those who were speeding,” explains Richardson.
Earlier this year, the Speed Camera Lottery won The Fun Theory contest. Devised by advertising agency DDB for Volkswagen, the contest challenges inventors to solve a social problem, such as littering and speed-limit adherence, in a way that is, well, enjoyable.
Remember last year’s Internet hit the Piano Staircase? It’s that competition.
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Richardson, a father of three who lives in San Francisco, was inspired to create the Speed Camera Lottery after seeing three children struck by cars while riding their bikes.
“Applying the Fun Theory to traffic safety, I asked myself: Could we get drivers to slow down through fun?”
It seems the answer is yes.
Richardson’s design was placed on a street in Stockholm in an experiment that ended in November. The average speed of traffic on the street before the experiment was 32 kilometres per hour. The average speed during the experiment was 25 km/h, a 22 per cent reduction.
“This is a really positive thing – drive legally and earn money. Perfect!” one motorist is heard saying on a Fun Theory video.
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One lucky motorist received a $20,000 krona ($3,000) cheque.
The Fun Theory campaign has been a hit for Volkswagen, attracting 20 million views on YouTube and 24,000 fans on Facebook since it was created last year and leading to an 84 per cent increase in Volkswagen eco-car sales in Sweden.
Other ideas tested through the initiative include The World’s Deepest Bin, a garbage can with speakers that make it seem like your rubbish is descending into a bottomless pit; and a bottle bank arcade machine in which you insert glass bottles to play and earn points.
While his system hasn’t been employed anywhere outside of Sweden, Richardson is optimistic that the interest the Fun Theory competition has sparked by his design will spawn its use in other cities.
“I hope that this process is adopted to make things safer, better and more positive,” he adds. “Driving is already scary and fraught with peril as it is, so why not make it easier and safer?”
The Fun Theory campaign was awarded the Grand Prix in the outdoor category at the Eurobest Advertising awards on Wednesday in Hamburg.
