PIFs And PSAs

Road Safety PSAs

Road safety PSAs are the most prolific subgenre of terrifying PSAs. From gratuitous child death, gore, shock, to creeping dread, this category really has it all.

While the UK government has been putting out road safety PSAs and PIFs since the 1950s through COI (Central Offic of Information, founded 1946), in 2000 Think! was established and took over all road safety messages for the country. Many iconic "terrifying/scary/creepy" British PSAs were created through Think!, and they're a little bit infamous for the number of PSA adverts they created that scared children across the country. From "Hit Me At 30" to "Live With It", Think! have created a lot of bangers, and since their foundation, road deaths in the UK have reduced by 46%.

Click here to see the Think! website.
Click here to see the Think! YouTube channel.

Live With It, 2010

I remember this advert being on TV when I was a kid, and I also remember it making me terrified of looking under our computer desk at home in case there was a creepy little dead boy hiding under there. Nowadays, it really makes me think about the differing messages people can get from these PSAs - for adults, who might drive themselves, this is a hard-hitting piece of horror reminding them to be careful when they drive or face the consequences. For a child, who definitely is not driving, it can seem like just a scary video of a guy being haunted by a dead kid. A really good example of a creepy PSA.

The Girl Who Didn't Dress Bright In The Dark, 2008

This advert belongs to the Tales Of The Road series, and there are two more: The Boy Who Didn't Look For A Safe Place To Cross and The Boy Who Didn't Stop, Look, And Listen. The style of these adverts, the kids with big sad eyes and various bruises, cuts and broken bones, the gloomy palette and the monotone voiceover, all combines together into a PSA which technically isn't all that scary, but which definitely creeped me out as a kid. These are also aimed at kids, and would play on cartoon channels, so you can imagine the tone would be a little unsettling.

David, 1999

This advert is one of a series run by DETR (Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions), with others including Terry, John and Mike and Joy. The way that the dark screen with ominous music, saying only "What's it like to kill someone?" hit me the first time I saw this advert really sticks with me. While the arthouse-style clips might seem a little much to some, I do enjoy the eerie, unsettling atmosphere they create alongside the desolate music to really make the consequences of dangerous driving hit home.

Shame On You, 2014

I remember seeing this PSA, or else one very similar to it, in the cinema before a movie - my first expectation was that it was going to be some kind of car advert, only to be taken aback by the sudden obliteration of a whole class of young children. It very much feels like it comes out of left field, and the shock factor is pretty high - and then after that, you get voice-over guy shaming you. To be fair to it, it did stick with me.

Julie Knew Her Killer, 1998

Julie Knew Her Killer has been reused a few times - originally made in 1998 by DETR/COI, it was then modified and reused by Think! in the 2000s with a new tagline. Part of the campaigns to encourage seatbelt usage, this PSA uses a bait-and-switch to get its message across. There's quite a bit of blood in this one, spattering on the windshield and covering Julie's son's face, and the classic deadpan narrator describing Julie being "crushed to death", while Julie's daughter being shown screaming in horror behind her mother's bloodied head adds another layer of horror. This advert has been broadcast across the world, and even recreated by other countries, and won a D&AD Wood Pencil Award in 1999.

Drogas, los efectos que no conoces, 2014

This PIF really does feel like a mini horror film - with its dulled colour palette, creeping music, and wordless storytelling, I really found this to be a gripping PIF. The fact that what is going on is so slowly built up - the car's sudden stop, the locked doors, the tow-truck, the way the man becomes more and more frantic as he realises no-one can see him, the fear of a young girl as he goes past; the reveal of more and more and more tow-trucks with cars like his, filled with more frantic and distraught people, all leading to the horrifying realisation that he's died in a crash earlier - really leaves you on the edge of your seat. The concept of junkyards being filled with the trapped ghosts of those who have died in drug-driving accidents, unable to leave their cars, terrified and grieving, is also a pretty lasting horror in and of itself.

It's 30 For A Reason, 2006

This one's a classic. Also known as "Hit Me At 30" by those who grew up traumatised by it, this advert showed the dead body of a young girl sliding back onto the road and healing as she explains that the difference between life and death is a mere 10mph: at 40mph, there's an 80% she'll die, but at 30mph, there's an 80% chance she'll live. Apparently, there are two versions: one for before watershed, and one for after, however I've never seen any videos showing a comparison, or even labelling which version they apparently show. If you ask any child who grew up in the 2000s for a disturbing PSA, there's a good chance this is the one they'll list. Funnily enough, though, I don't remember this one scaring me or creeping me out - I thought it was really interesting!

Swap, 2009

The worst part of this one is the surprise - it almost has a twist ending. The advert shows an impaired driver making mistakes, hesitating, swerving, and the passenger making comments on his driving. Usually, this would end in a horrific accident - but the drivers pulls over the car and agrees to let her drive, which seems like the right thing to do and you almost think you're in the clear, before he's obliterated by another car speeding by. It's sudden, it's brutal, and it totally caught me off-guard. The woman's screams are pretty hard-hitting too. Just a reminder - the impaired judgement doesn't just apply to driving the car, but all aspects of safety surrounding it, too.

Motherless Child, 1995

For the most part, this one is relatively tame - there's blood, there's screaming, but nothing particularly more graphic than most PSAs, and a lot of time is spent on the lead-up. The shaky POV camera lends it a little realism which makes it feel quite grounded. What really bumps this one up is the lifeless body of the mother in the other car, backed by the crying of the baby and the knowledge of what has happened as a result of distracted driving. To borrow from the title - nothing is quite as horrifying as being the reason for a motherless child.