Qualitative focus groups of teens and young adults between the ages of 17 and 24 widely reported recognizing the dangers of distracted driving. Uniquely we uncovered that nearly all of them didn’t categorize the micro moments of interaction with their phone as distracted driving. However, anything that takes your focus away from the road presents a real and life altering danger. Data from a nationwide study showed that when when your eyes are off the road for even 2 seconds it increases accident risk by 24 times. Despite all this rational data, our goal was to close this logic gap for teens with an emotionally resonant idea, ‘it happens fast.’

Other research and data gathering included driver focus groups, stakeholder interviews with police officers and ER nurses, social listening, driver surveys, and academic research on behavioral change models.

The campaign launched across all platforms including TV, Cinema, Spotify and Social, ahead of Canada’s biggest driving weekend, the Canada Day long weekend.

After only 1 month, the Ontario Provincial Police reported a 7% decrease in distracted driving. The campaign garnered 32 million impressions, triple Ontario’s actual population. The campaign hashtag was used over 10,000 times and the film component is now mandatory viewing in all driving schools in Ontario. ‘It happens fast’ helped stigmatize distracted driving for a whole new generation of drivers.