More motorcycles on New South Wales’ roads, less care by riders and motorists? Either way,motorcycle fatalities reaching a ten-year high in 2025, Transport for New South Wales has partnered with Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song, to launch a new state-wide motorbike safety campaign designed to reset how riders think about risk on the road.

Titled Ride Like Everything’s Out To Get You, the campaign responds to growing evidence that awareness alone is no longer enough. Behaviour change, on every journey, is the challenge. Fatalities have continued to rise year on year, with male riders disproportionately represented in serious injuries and deaths. Four high-risk behaviours were identified as priority areas for intervention – cornering, intersections, overtaking and wearing protective gear. Attitudinal research also uncovered cultural truths about motorcycling. Riding is central to many riders’ identity, closely tied to freedom, pride and community. However, overconfidence among newer riders was linked to increased risk-taking. While most riders acknowledged the importance of protective gear, many still believed full protection wasn’t necessary for every trip.

Ride Like Everything’s Out To Get You takes on these risks in a way to do more than warn.

The state-wide campaign covers broadcast video on demand, online video, social, digital, radio, out-of-home and press, with creative translated into four languages for culturally and linguistically diverse focused media channels.

Droga5 ANZ chief creative officer, Barbara Humphries, stated, “The riding community is full of stories of seemingly innocuous objects or conditions, resulting in a near miss – or worse. This campaign aims to alert riders to the need to never let their guard down, even on seemingly ‘safe’ roads. By showing the hidden menace hiding in the familiar and banal, we’re using a new visual language to disarm, avoiding shock and fearmongering which causes many riders to self-exempt. The campaign is designed to elevate riders’ perception of risk on every journey, regardless of experience, prompt reflection on everyday behaviours, and equip both riders and drivers with the knowledge to better protect one another on the road.”

Transport for New South Wales director of road and maritime safety, Evan Walker, added,  “We want this campaign to start a more honest conversation about the everyday risks riders face when out on our roads and the need for them to be constantly on the lookout for danger to keep themselves safe. By focusing on everyday decisions – low-risk riding, protective gear and awareness, the campaign encourages people to think differently about risk before they get on the road and while they are riding before something goes wrong.”

Credits:

Client: Transport for New South Wales
Executive Director, Communications: Mel Stewart
Campaigns Manager: Philip Sherar
Campaigns Specialist: Christina Lazaridis

Creative Agency: Droga5 ANZ
Chief Executive Officer: Matt Michael
Chief Creative Officer: Barbara Humphries & Damon Stapleton
National Head of Production: Romanca Mundrea
Head of Production: Penny Brown
Head of Effectiveness: Kit Lansdell
Executive Creative Directors: Christie Cooper & James Conner
Group Business Directors: Patrick Lynch & Jenny McLarney
Business Director: Jack Asimus
Senior Producers: Kaija Wall & Vanessa Fernandez
Design Director: James Halliday
Senior Designer: Stephanie Mo

Production Company: Sweetshop
Director: Jakob Marky
Co-Managing Directors: Edward Pontifex & Greg Fyson
Executive Producer: Kate Roydhouse
Producer: Nicole Crozier
DOP: Sam Chiplin
Post Production: ARC
Editor: Drew Thompson
Colourist: Billy Wychgel
Online Artist: Eugene Richards
Sound & Music: Liquidstudios NZ

Stills Production Company: Sam I Am
Photographer: Toby Burrows
Retouching: Electric Art

Media Agency: OMD
Snr Planning Manager: Rhys Davies
Implementation Managers: Guida Helal & Andrew Spearing
Planning Executive: Kayley Macgonigal