The IMI and ITN Productions have partnered together to produce a news-style programme entitled ‘Driving Change’, which looks at new technologies, flourishing career opportunities and the desire to move towards a fully licensed and regulated industry.
The film, hosted by newsreader and presenter Natasha Kaplinksy, explores four key areas of the motor industry:
- Business Opportunities
- Synchronising with Customers
- Powering the Future
- Innovation
Organisations and companies from the automotive industry were approached by the IMI to help put the film together.
Part of the ‘Innovation’ film, focuses on passenger and vehicle safety and shows compelling evidence that the condition and type of tyre on a vehicle is key to the ability to brake and maintain control.
Continental Tyres was the subject of the film, which looked at the difference in braking distances between winter and summer tyres and PMM was invited along to go behind-the-scenes of the recording.
There is currently an average of 500 accidents every day on the UK’s roads, around 10% of motorway accidents coming as a result of mechanical faults and vehicle defects, which include tyre issues.
Continental has been a pioneer in road safety for more than 140 years, its goal being for ‘zero fatalities, zero injuries and zero accidents’ which it aims to achieve by helping drivers to better understand tyre safety and braking systems.
To help accomplish this, company has launched ‘Vision Zero’, a campaign which targets the public and the motoring industry with the commitment to use tyre technologies and automotive systems to reduce accidents.
As part of the scheme, Continental is using its partnership with Mercedes Benz World in Surrey, to offer the public a chance to try the ‘Conti Brazing Zone’ and experience for themselves the difference in stopping distances between the two types of tyre.
The advice from Continental to consumers is to fit winter tyres, which grip better and stop quicker, from October to April, when the temperature maintains an average of below 7°C.
Typically, winter tyres stop eleven meters before their summer versions, when driving at 20mph on an icy road.
So far, 600 people have taken the test and every one of them have stated that they would consider fitting winter tyres in the future, meaning there is a possible added revenue stream which could be capitalised on by independent garages.
Unique Experience
The film may only be four-and-a-half minutes in length, but it took around 10 hours to shoot and that’s only a small segment of ‘Driving Change’ programme.
All of that footage then had to be scrupulously edited down by the reporter, Katie Haswell, before she could record the voice-over and cut the final edit together.
Only one cameraman was on hand, so there several test runs had to be undertaken to get shots from different angles and each of the interviews seen in the film lasted between 20 and 30 minutes, with only a short snippet from each one making the final cut.
Seeing first-hand the work that went into producing the film, as well as being able to undertake the braking zone test was an eye-opening experience.
To see all four films, visit the Driving Change pages of the IMI website.
