A new road safety campaign is encouraging young drivers to think of their passengers as cake, after a survey revealed that a majority of Belgians drive more cautiously when carrying food.
Created by Responsible Young Drivers (RYD), a European road safety organisation founded in Belgium, the new campaign was launched on social media on Friday under the hashtag #TreatYourFriendsLikeACake.
The hashtag was created after a 2019 survey by polling centre iVOX showed that 87% of Belgian respondents said they drove more carefully when they were transporting food.
"Don't you find it crazy that we care more for our food than for our loved ones?" a message on the website of the campaign, launched jointly with carmaker Renault, reads.
Using images of spinning pastries to convey its "recipe for safe driving," the campaign, named The Safety Cake, encourages drivers to slow down when making a turn and to remember to check their speed.
Laura Gonzales Schena, the group's coordinator in Wallonia and Brussels, said the campaign aims to encourage safe driving in a positive and original tone.
"We do not want to moralize or point a finger," she stated in a press release, adding: "We hope to remind the motorist that a passenger is just as fragile as a cake."
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
