Nice-Premium: How was the Vigicarotte concept born?
Edouard Noblecourt: Vigicarotte is an initiative by MAAF Assurances in partnership with Road Safety. After a test of the operation in 2000, in Charente Maritime, the operation became monthly in 2001.
NP: Can you quickly remind our readers of the principle of this operation?
Edouard Noblecourt:
The principle:
The operation takes place every month in a different department since January 2001. We set up there each time for 8 evenings in 4 partner nightclubs, every Friday and Saturday of the month. On-site, we benefit from the support of our communication partners, NRJ and Paru Vendu, and we also have a campaign involving flyers, posters, and press relations.
Upon arriving at the nightclub, we engage with young people to encourage the driver to hand over their driving license, if they wish. In return, they are first given a token offering a free soft drink.
During the evening, we have on-site secondary activities, such as a blood alcohol level simulator on a touch computer and a mask that simulates a blood alcohol content of 2 grams. This allows us to inform young people about risks that can quickly become very significant.
NP: Is there a different message depending on the departments?
Edouard Noblecourt: No, not really, although the results and behaviors vary greatly between departments, the risks and the way to prevent them are the same. We just adapt our message to the individual (for example, there are many more two-wheelers and thus more accidents involving two-wheelers in a department like Alpes Maritimes).
NP: What work still needs to be done to make young people understand that fun, alcohol, driving, and speed should not be combined?
Edouard Noblecourt: Despite what one might think, there is still a collective and individual awareness among young drivers today, especially among very young drivers (18-21 years old) who have been the primary target of many road safety campaigns in recent years.
There is certainly still work to be done, but the figures (except for the significant increase in deaths in May) tend to show that the dual impact of prevention and enforcement is starting to bear fruit, even though we would like enforcement to play a lesser role than prevention, which is not necessarily the case today.
NP: Finally, are there any other projects, and what would you do specifically if you had an unlimited budget?
Edouard Noblecourt: Many projects are already being conducted by MAAF Prevention and Safety, in addition to the Vigicarotte operation, and indeed an unlimited budget would allow launching new ones and expanding the action plan of a large-scale operation like Vigicarotte. MAAF conducts road safety projects for the elderly, but it also carries out other prevention operations concerning health in general and daily life as well.
