Australian road-safety PSA slows to a crawl

Like all right-minded people, I prefer my road-safety PSAs dark and disturbing, full of broken bodies, crushed cars and tortured tales of tragedy. Such messages have (pardon the pun) impact! Alas, there’s a trend toward more thoughtful auto-safety spots, exemplified by last year’s lauded “Embrace life” PSA. That clip was crafted by crumpet-dunking Brits, and I’d hoped it was an aberration. But now the Aussies have gone soft, too, with the Road Safety Council of Western Australia bidding us to “Enjoy the ride” (wasn’t that Nissan’s line?) in a three-minute clip from 303 Group that’s so pansy-poetic and unrelentingly uplifting, it’s a Down Under downer that will drive folks to dreamland.