I WANT IT PAINTED BLACK – NEW ATA SAFETY TRUCK COLOURS

The Volvo ATA Safety Truck is now black, rather than green, and the cute animations are gone.

The Volvo ATA Safety Truck, sponsored by Volvo, BP and NTI, educates the public on how to share the road safely with trucks and has been delivering safety exhibitions in the custom-built trailer since 2008, travelling 60,000km and reaching 33,000 people annually via truck shows, festivals and school visits.

“The previous Safety Truck design had been connecting with audiences since 2013,” ATA Chair Geoff Crouch said in his welcoming speech at the ATA’s technology and Maintenance Conference today.

“The new campaign will specifically target 16 to 25 year old drivers and vulnerable road users, as they’re the ones who are over-represented in crash statistics. We will use an attractive, evidence-based exhibition and campaign to engage these drivers, riders and pedestrians.

“Extensive research has shown the truck’s neon colours and cartoon graphics aren’t the right approach for this target audience, so we decided it was time for a change,” he said.

The redesign process officially began in September, when the ATA engaged creative agency Hard Edge to take on the project. In the weeks following, the team at Hard Edge developed a sleek and clean design that will be featured on the Safety Truck throughout the redesign process.

The interim wrap was proudly sponsored by 3M, and features 3M conspicuity tape markings in accordance with the ATA’s truck visibility technical advisory procedure. The wrap was expertly applied by the team at Rice Graphic Images in Wodonga.

“The interim wrap opens the conversation that the Safety Truck is changing and brings our stakeholders and the wider community on the journey with us,” Mr Crouch said.

“The Safety Truck is still travelling around the country to visit schools and industry events. We want people to see the interim wrap and get excited,” he said.

ATA Safety and Skills Adviser Melissa Weller will deliver a session about the redesign today at the conference, which is being held this week in the Melbourne Docklands.

“I will give our delegates an in-depth insight into the research behind the change and what the Safety Truck will look like in the future,” Mrs Weller said.

“We have also brought the Safety Truck to the conference, giving industry stakeholders a chance to get up close with the truck and see the new wrap,” she said.