The National Motorists Association Australia Inc. today defended the right of car companies to advertise their products and labelled proposed legislation to ban imaginative car ads as "a silly attack of political correctness" and an “insult to the Australian public” to suggest that they cannot distinguish between tongue in cheek advertising and real life driving.

“What is the harm in showing a car going fast on a salt pan and appearing to overtake a jet powered vehicle? We believe that car companies should be allowed to advertise cars using imaginative or motor sport inspired commercials. It is insulting to the Australian public to suggest they have no ability to discern the difference between fantasy and reality." motorist association spokesperson Mr Jim Wright argued.

"Where is the evidence of a link between entertaining advertisements and misbehaviour on the road?” asked Mr Jim Wright. “Noone is pointing to any study justifying this stupidity. Can we expect the next road safety initiative to be a ban on Playstation car games?” Road deaths are a serious problem. What we need is serious solutions.

We are calling for better driver training to address the large proportion of road crashes caused by inexperience. Funding better driver training would be a much more effective use of public resources than paying politicians to plan a ban on ‘zoom zoom’ ads.

All of the current road safety advertisements are also pure fantasy but noone is calling for them to be banned. “The contrived road-safety advertisements that purport to show reality yet are wildly exaggerated for effect are far more dangerous to the public." he said.

“The ads fudge both reaction time AND stopping distances. Many use half the typical braking rate and three times the typical reaction time.” complained Wright. "They assume a reaction time of 1.5s. However study of the average reaction time for stepping on a brake pedal in response to a light for 20 year olds was .44s increasing to .52s for 70 year olds (Olsen P L. Driver Perception Response Times.; Accident Reconstruction Journal 1991 Jan/Feb; 3 (1): 16 – 21, 29.) The stopping distances are calculated based on a deceleration of 4.5m/s/s. That rate of deceleration is just under half the deceleration of a typical car in a road test. Halving the deceleration and tripling the typical reaction time to mislead the public and justify its cash grab is inexcusable .” affirmed Wright.

“Locking the brakes and failing to swerve are two behaviours that we should be educated to avoid. Instead the advertisements repeatedly imprint this behaviour upon the general driving public. “ reasoned Wright.

“Car manufacturers ads pose no danger because they aren’t meant to be taken seriously. However the contrived ‘road safety’ ads are a different story. They are of far greater concern.” Said Wright. We suggest that the current road safety advertisements carry a consumer protection warning: "Filmed under simulated conditions. Parental guidance recommended. Any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental."