Skip to Content
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Streetsblog Los Angeles home
Log In
Ad Nauseam

LADOT P.S.A. – Same Crash, Different Perspective

So, a lot of you didn't like the Emmy Award Winning P.S.A. put out by LADOT in 2008 which showed a young girl getting hit by a speeding car because it put too much of the blame on the girl and not enough on the driver.  I thought it was a powerful piece, maybe because as an expectant father any image of a child being mauled by a vehicle is going to get my attention, and many commenters thought it was a missed opportunity to make a point about dangerous driving.

Fair enough.

But to be fair to LADOT, yesterday I was only covering the advertisement that won the Emmy.  Above, is a companion announcement focusing only on the driver's role in the crash.  If I were an Emmy voter, I would have voted for yesterday's featured ad over this one because the voice-over from the driver in today's sounds a little off to me:

My God!  How did this happen?  As a child, I was always in a hurry.  As I got older, I was always distracted.   And in the next second, I'll kill a little girl.

Then, the same film of a young girl in a pink soccer uniform getting slammed into by the driver is shown before the voice changes to another man, presumably one of the police on the scene.

Good driving behavior starts at an early age.  Traffic safety is everybody's responsibility.  Watch the road.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Los Angeles

L.A. City Approves Measure HLA Ordinance

Both City Council and Mayor approved the city HLA ordinance, which goes into effect on August 18.

July 17, 2025

Supes Move to Restore Measure J

Supes look to fix an oopsie that lead to accidentally repealing criminal justice reforms.

July 16, 2025

City Breaks Ground on Mid-City Greenways Bike/Walk Improvements

The 4+mile Mid-City Greenways project is focused on three streets: Rosewood Avenue, Formosa Avenue, and Orange Drive

July 15, 2025
See all posts