In September 2008, West Midlands Casualty Reduction Scheme, working with road safety partnerships throughout the Midlands region, launched a campaign asking young people to imagine how they would feel if their driving resulted in a friend sustaining permanent, life changing injuries.

'Best Mate' is based around a short film showing three young friends enjoying a game of beach volleyball. The sense of fun and exuberance is replaced by feelings of guilt and remorse for one player as he sees the fourth member of the 'gang' watching from the sidelines, unable to join the others having lost a leg in a car crash. The campaign states 'You crashed the car, your mate has to live with it'.

Billboard (click for PDF)

The campaign portrays a realistic scenario as every year thousands of young people are affected by the consequences of car crashes. Young people are at greatest risk of being injured or killed in road traffic collisions. In 2006 for example, 32,677 17-21 year old car users were killed or injured in Great Britain and 17-21 year olds represented a quarter of car users killed (DfT figures).

Drivers aged 16-19 are twice as likely as average to be injured or killed in and a road traffic collisions and 16-19 year old passengers are nearly four times as likely to be killed or injured then average. (DfT figures 2006).

The making of the campaign was particularly poignant for Oliver Netherton, the male volley ball player in the film. Two of Oliver's friends died in a car crash in which the driver survived. Regardless of the cause of the crash, the driver is having to live knowing that two of his friends died whilst in his care.

A West Midlands Casualty Reduction Scheme spokesperson said:

"As this campaign shows, car crashes can change lives for good. We want young people to reflect on the way they drive and if necessary make changes before it's too late. They need to understand that when you drive a car you are responsible for the safety of yourself, your passengers and other road users around you. Far too many young people are needlessly losing their lives, sustaining permanent injuries or having to live with the life-long responsibility of killing or seriously injuring someone else."

The film was made available online at www.best-mate.net and was also promoted on You Tube, via social networking sites. In the West Midlands it was supported by radio adverts and outdoor posters designed to direct people to the website.

The regional campaign was further supported in the West Midlands by Galaxy FM. In addition to the Casualty Reduction Scheme's sponsorship of Galaxy's breakfast show, Galaxy produced a vodcast starring breakfast DJ Dan Kelly, Katy and Producer Phelps to reinforce the campaign's message. The video, How to Kill Friends and Alienate People, focused on how Kelly would feel to be responsible for the death of his friends in a road traffic collision.