In 2006, having developed successful brand and on-going campaign on which to create demand for more crashworthy cars, (www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au), the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in Victoria, Australia looked at what opportunities were available to it, to further increase the safety of the Victorian vehicle fleet. The TAC is a government owned and operated, third party injury insurer that invests heavily in road safety initiatives to help meet its legislative responsibility to reduce the incidence and severity of transport injury on Victorian roads. In 2006, evidence around the effectiveness of, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Curtain Airbags (CA) in reducing crashes and injuries respectively, had firmed, yet compared with European and US vehicles the uptake of these lifesaving features in Australia was very poor.

Method:​ The TAC built a business case to extend its howsafeisyourcar.com.au campaign, to specifically create awareness of and develop demand for ESC and CA. A mass media campaign was developed that included TV, radio and on-line advertising, outdoor billboards and point of sale promotions at events such as the Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Melbourne Motorshow. Demonstrating how these usually invisible technologies worked to reduce crashes (ESC) and prevent serious injury (CA). The campaign was launched early in 2007 and continues to be used to this day.

Results:​ Since the development of the campaign, fitment rate of ESC and CA has increased dramatically, with Victoria outstripping the rest of Australia and is comparable to Europe in relation to standard fitment of the technologies. In addition, many vehicle manufacturers have made ESC standard in popular models and most importantly, the Victorian Government announced ahead of all other Australasian jurisdictions, the mandatory fitment of ESC on new cars registered after 31December 2010.

Discussion:​ This paper will outline the development of the ESC and CA campaign. The barriers faced along the way and the outcomes.