Virtual reality with Independent Events and Road Respect

Indendent Events introduce a virtual reality Oculus Rift experience to Road Respect, a road safety organisation in the North East of England.

The virtual reality driving experience will be housed within a new, fully branded Road Respect van named “Roadi” by the public, and will be the prominent feature of the 42 day summer long #SpotRoadi campaign. The campaign is set to hit key events and areas in Newcastle, Sunderland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Northumberland and Gateshead with live event teams provided by Independent Events to ensure the message is spread as efficiently as possible.

The Oculus Rift driving simulator focuses on driver behavior and the dangers of drink-driving and has been designed to incorporate iconic North East landmarks such as the Angel of The North, Newcastle Quayside and Stadium of Light, where users can test their driving ability and compare their scores with friends and family via social media integration on Facebook and Twitter which posts their scores directly to the users profiles. They will be confronted with various distractions on the road such as a mobile phone ringing or rogue pedestrians running from behind vehicles and they will be judged on a score at the end of the experience. Prizes are available to the highest scores of each day, which is displayed on the campaign’s Facebook profile as a league table. The experience has two modes; sober or drunk, so the users can compare their reactions while under the influence.

The integration of the social media posting will extend the reach of the live activations and work alongside the campaign’s other digital outputs, creating a 360° use of technology for an experiential event. Users are being encouraged to share their scores, photos of Roadi and their selfies at the events with the hashtag #SpotRoadi with prizes for the best submissions distributed throughout the summer.

Steve Donaldson from Road Respect said, “Road Respect has always tried to keep at the front of innovation and new technology to make the biggest impact with road users – The Oculus Rift virtual reality technology and Roadi is the next step! Providing an immersive driving experience and correcting behaviour from our events is a great way to engage and educate. Ultimately the aim is to change driving behaviour, make our roads safer and save lives. Roadi with Oculus Rift working with our awarding winning events team is another step to making the road better in the North East.”