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Pop Art Adds Weight To CBD Pedestrian Safety Campaign

24 June 2015

The Andrews Labor Government and the Transport Accident Commission are drawing inspiration from pop art in their latest effort to reduce pedestrian road trauma in Melbourne’s CBD.

For the next 12 weeks, an eye catching tram adorned with pop art imagery will remind pedestrians in the city to keep their “heads up” and their “phones down”.

The iconic “KAPOW!” pop art image will serve as a further reminder of the consequences of getting distracted when walking around the busy streets of Melbourne.

The City of Melbourne has the highest incidence of pedestrian fatalities and injuries in Victoria, with 11 people killed and 292 seriously injured over five year period.

Most of these accidents are due to the high numbers of people and vehicles in CBD streets, with about 800,000 people visiting the city daily. A third of all crashes in the CBD involve people crossing the street.

Earlier this year the TAC broadened its distractions campaign to target pedestrians using mobile devices, in response to a 22 per cent increase in pedestrian fatalities in 2014.

The tram will service route 70 between Wattle Park and Waterfront City, Docklands, until the end of August.

The busy route moves through suburbs including Camberwell, Hawthorn and Richmond before winding through some of the CBD’s busiest thoroughfares. The pedestrian safety message will also be on show at stops along the route.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Roads and Road Safety Luke Donnellan

“We’re asking Melbournian’s to look up, take your headphones out and pay attention to traffic around you.”

“In a collision, pedestrians don’t have the benefit of airbags and seatbelts. You need to be alert to your surroundings, always use designated crossings, obey traffic signals and avoid distractions.”

“We’re putting this tram out onto Melbourne’s streets to raise road safety awareness and make people think twice about burying themselves in their mobile phones when stepping off a tram or walking around the city.”

Reviewed 19 August 2020

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