She’s a big, orange bundle of road safety love.
Let’s face it. You’ve all seen the gory ads. You’ve all watched the tragic stories on the news. And you all know that drinking and driving is a first class act of supreme stupidity. Yet 23 per cent of deaths on Victoria’s roads last year can be attributed to persons between the ages of 18 – 25, a demographic that makes up only 13 per cent of all licence holders in the state. Those are some seriously ugly statistics, and it’s clear that sometimes we all need a little extra reminder of what can happen if we have one to many gin and tonics and get behind the wheel.
The TAC is working tirelessly to dramatically reduce the severity of these numbers, along with the help of Vanessa.
Vanessa is big, chunky, entertaining, bright orange and wants to test your breath!
She’s a former booze bus with a whole lot of personality who now works for the TAC, and she’s here to educate and inform you about the dangers of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs and acting reckless whilst on our roads. We had a chat to Candice McDonald, Marketing Projects Manager with the TAC, about what Vanessa stands for, and how she’s helping to make our roads a lot safer.
The bus was originally created as a means to showcase the winning films of the Make a Film. Make a Difference competition, a contest where young people have the opportunity to submit films they have made regarding the issue of road safety in an attempt to entertain, educate and raise awareness about important issues concerning road safety. But since her inauguration in 2005, Vanessa has developed into so much more.
She is now a regular sight around the festival traps, and Candice tells us that essentially the bus provides a chill out space. It’s a place where you festival goers can congregate, chill out in the shade on a beanbag, snag some free water or coffee, get their breath tested and generally just recharge. The bus is fully equipped with a legitimate breath testing facility, so you can check out how high your blood alcohol count is. The bus offers many other features too, such as the inbuilt plasma screens on the inside and outside which continue to showcase the winners of the Make a Film. Make a Difference comp. There’s also a handy shaded area full of comfy couches and beanbags, which is an ideal space to have at those super hot festivals which don’t provide a lot of refuge from the suns rays. At the back of the bus is an old school photo booth, where you can get your pictured snapped with your mates, and hang out while the photos are printed. There’s an editing suite on board too, so film footage from the festival can be edited and put up on the screens at the same time. Talk about a vehicle with extra features!
At the end of a festival, Vanessa usually heads to the festival gates as people are leaving, so you can check and see if you really should be getting behind the wheel to drive home, or whether you should be passing your keys to a mate. “People are given the opportunity to be tested before they head home so they don’t have that doubt in their head. It eliminates any kind of guessing games,” and reassures people that they are indeed safe to drive.
Vanessa has just launched her very own Facebook page called ilikevanessa, where there’s going to be some pretty cool prizes. Two VIP prizes to the very sold out Falls Festival are the first goodies up for grabs. Hell yes!
For more info head to Vanessa’s website, and remember, play it safe on our roads.
