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Motorcycle safety PSA wins national award

ITD and its Office of Highway Operations and Safety received a national award last week for production of a public service announcement that emphasizes motorcycle safety.

The 30-second announcement, created by a consultant, emerged the best of six other entries submitted by Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, Texas and Utah in the category “TV Commercial or PSA, with consultant.” It was presented during the annual National Transportation Public Affairs Workshop in Tacoma, Wash.

Communications specialist Mel Coulter accepted the award on behalf of the department, the Office of Highway Operations and Safety and the Office of Communications.

Idaho was one of 16 states that shared 30 skills awards at the workshop. ITD submitted entries in “Electronic Magazine,” “Annual or Biennial Report,” “Print, Internal Newsletter,” “Feature Story” and “CEO Column.”

“Safety on our highways is central to everything we do at ITD. We recognized the need to emphasize motorcycle safety – including a greater awareness by automobile drivers – as a way to curb the rising incidents of fatal crashes involving motorcycles,” Coulter said. “The PSA put that awareness of motorcycles into a very graphic format.”

The 30-second spot shows a motorist glancing to his left and right and then proceeding through an intersection where his vehicle is struck on the drivers’ side by a motorcycle.

Its visual (and physical) impact attracted inquiries from Maine, New Mexico and West Virginia about possible use in those states.

“We produced the piece with the idea that others might want to pick it up and use it,” said OHOS grant/contracts officer Share Maack, who coordinated production of the PSA. “…We are happy to provide our highway safety partners the clip to air.”

North by Northwest, a local video production group, produced the clip in partnership with OHOS consultant ES Drake.

It was used extensively in Idaho and was featured as part of a motorcycle safety report by KBCI-TV in Boise.

View the PSA