LADOT Wins Emmy for Powerful “Watch the Road” P.S.A.

2:45 PM PDT on August 31, 2009

Given how we've mocked LADOT's previous Emmy Award Winning P.S.A., you might think this headline was sarcastic, but it's not.

The above Public Service Announcement, a surprisingly graphic advertisement that delivers a powerful message that no matter who is legally "at fault" drivers need to watch the road carefully or they could end up with blood on their hands. For pedestrians, the advertisement delivers a warning to look both ways, after all they're the ones who's lives are literally on the line. For drivers, a plea to drive more slowly when children are nearby.

The video starts with a warning that the video may not be suitable for minors before we hear a child introduce herself:

Hi, I'm eight years old. In the next fifteen seconds, I'm going to get hit by a car. Look both ways before crossing the street. Drive with caution around kids. Traffic safety is everyone's responsibility. Watch. The. Road.

In the moments before the Watch the Road tagline, we see the young girl who narrates the commercial chase after a ball and get slammed by a passing car. The windshield implodes before we refocus on a gurney wheel rolling past a shoe.

Given the "cartoon violence" we've seen in some past P.S.A.'s, this new advertisement shows an agency willing to take a risk to prove a point. The only complaint I have is that this P.S.A. ran in 2008 and I never heard of it until today! Memo to LADOT, get this one up and running again!

Damien Newton

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