Norwegian bikers are dropping like flies

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Not_Bugs.jpgReminiscent of an opening scene from a George A. Romero film, this Norwegian PSA is the kind of creative slap in the face that’s sadly missing from our own motorcycle awareness campaigns. Also, it’s kind of funny that the biker archetype in Europe includes full gear.

Update: we’ve added the Director’s Cut below the original video. The last few seconds make it 100 percent more disturbing.
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via AdFreak  Thanks for the tip, Jonathan.

  • Kerry

    It is also funny that the “Family Man” archetype in Europe dresses like a roadie for a Bon Jovi concert.

    it could have been worse…they could have taken the british approach like this texting PSA:
    http://www.parentdish.com/2009/08/25/will-bloody-texting-psa-get-the-message-to-teens/

  • M.P.

    Sweet denim, dude! lol!

  • http://setthemfree.tumblr.com Sasha Pave

    I’m surprised at the stats considering Norway has some of the toughest DUI laws, licensing tests and maintenance requirements in Europe.

    I really wish we had more of this state-side. Thanks Wes!

  • http://www.mc-addict.com HansP

    FWIW: Facts about M/C in Norway.

    20 years ago, the accident risk for riders was some 5 percent. Today it is 0.4 percent, even with a considerably larger number of motorcycles on the road. 6 of 10 bike accidents are collisions with other vehicles (almost solely cars). Of these, 8 of 10 are caused by inattentive car drivers. Not sure what DUI is, but the licensing test is truly one of the most stringent in Europe. We believe this is key to the rather low accident risk figures. Proper training is in general on top of the OECD recommendation list to curb increasing M/C accident figures. There are no mandatory maintenance requirements in Norway. All in all, Norway is ranked by the European Transport Safety Council as the “safest” motorcycle country in Europe. (The low speed limits may play a role in this too…)

  • Paul

    To HansP: DUI is “Driving Under the Influence” or drunk driving. I believe that the drinking and driving laws in Europe are more stringent than in the USA.

  • http://www.mc-addict.com HansP

    Paul, thanks for that (Wow! A new TLA in my vocabulary!)
    The European countries differs somewhat with regard to max alcohol limit (disregarding DUI of other substances) permitted when driving/riding. Some countries have a zero tolerance, while e.g. Ireland accepts 0.8 o/oo per ml blood (last time I checked). Norway has a limit of 0.2 o/oo – in practice that’s a zero tolerance. Not sure how it is in the US? I’d guess it differs too between the states?

    • http://greatjoballweek.blogspot.com/ Case

      In the US it depends on the state and but the Federal guideline is a blood alcohol content (BAC) limit of .08%, or roughly one drink per hour if you’re an average sized man. The limit used to be 1.0%. The issue with that was they were finding too many people on the roads with BACs above 1.0%, and that was contributing to crashes. With the lower limit they arrest more people for DUIs but also there are fewer people on the road with a BAC above 1.0%, which reduces crashes.

      The Feds encourage the states to conform to the guideline by withholding highway funds if the state is not in compliance.

      Personally I’d prefer to have a highly attentive/focused driver that’s had a couple beers behind the wheel instead of a mom in a suburban on her cellphone with two screaming kids in the back. It’s not the beers I’m afraid of; it’s the driver not paying attention, like the girl that hit me at a stoplight a couple months ago because she dicking around with her ipod (seriously).

  • Core

    Awesome commercial. Loved it.

  • http://ridethetorquecurve.blogspot.com hoyt

    Cellular & electronic companies need to help spread the word about inattentive driving. These companies put some clever ads together that advise people to silence their phone before a movie starts. It is time to apply this to driving.

    click into my blog to see some of the ads

  • http://www.cerberusmotorcycles.com dave

    The director’s cut version injects a touch of humour into it, but for a US version, I would suggest a couple of kids poking him with a stick…

    Guys, thanks for this! Excellent!

  • http://www.sideburnmagazine.com Ben Part