In the 1980s, crash test dummies scared Americans into buckling up. Now a true tearjerker of a public safety message from New Zealand is trying to emotionally manipulate you into applying the brakes—and it’s totally working.
What if you could exchange final words in the last moments before a fatal accident with the driver of the other car? That’s the premise behind this New Zealand Transport Agency ad, in which two drivers headed towards a fatal collision stop and attempt to negotiate the situation
Although the first driver is technically at fault for pulling into oncoming traffic at a deserted country junction, viewers get to read the heartache in his eyes as he pleads with the driver in the approaching lane to spare him. What happens next could make you a safer driver for life — or make your cold heart shrivel and die, depending on your level of cynicism.
“When we drive, we share the road with others,” states the ad’s description on YouTube.
You know what else we share? Tears.
H/T Digg | Screengrab via YouTube