Where: Brazil  

The challenge:

Every year the lives of approximately 1.35 million people are cut short due to a road traffic crash, while between 20 and 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries, including serious disabilities. In Brazil, there are about 40,000 annual deaths through road traffic accidents, many of them caused by speeding. 

Brazilian road toll management company Arteris wanted to help reduce the amount of road deaths caused by speeding but needed to find the right lever for behavioural change. The answer lay within the typical motorist’s love of music that makes those long drives more enjoyable. This passion, combined with technological innovation, provided us with the solution. 

The execution:

We developed the “Speed-o-Track”, an app that combines two of the biggest digital platforms in the world - Google Maps and Spotify – to create an always-on ‘tool’ that drivers will pay attention to when oblivious to their speedometer.  

The app provides an audible signal that the driver is speeding by linking the current speed in the car to the music being played. Once the driver goes over the speed limit, the music speeds up to a distressing level. This certainly grabs the attention, whether the person behind the wheel is listening to rock or rap, and gives the driver a nudge to return to a safe level below the speed limit.   

The results:

The concept of Speed-o-track proved to be a talking point picked up by the media and it gathered a lot of coverage in Brazilian publications like Techtudo, Motivo, MSN, Catraca Livre and O Estado de S. Paulo. All the coverage boosted awareness of the dangers of speeding nationally. 

A clever concept based on smart use of technology has made a difference in behaviour and contributed to curbing tragedies on Brazilian roads. Music doesn’t just enhance life - smart thinking means music can also save it.  

Check out more inspiring examples of our work on SDG3.