''Julie'', also known as ''Julie knew her killer'', is the title of a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

public information film Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...

(PIF) about the importance of wearing a

seatbelt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt red ...

in the rear of a car. It ran on national

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

from 1998 to 2003, and was so successful it was also shown in

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and

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, as well as being remade by

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for broadcast in

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. The safety commercial ran several months each year as part of the "THINK!" campaign, which is run by the

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

, and is listed among the hardest hitting safety adverts of the "last 30 years". The campaign was an "IPA Advertising Effectiveness Award" winner and increased the usage of rear seat belts in the United Kingdom by 11% saving 18 lives per year.

Plot

Julie is driving her two teenage children in a red Vauxhall Cavalier Mark III to school. She and her daughter are wearing their seatbelts, but the young son is not. A voiceover announces "Like most victims, Julie knew her killer." On the screen, we see Julie is so concerned with trying to avoid a Ford Transit Mark II which appears to be

tailgating Tailgating is the action of a driver driving behind another vehicle while not leaving sufficient distance to stop without causing a collision if the vehicle in front stops suddenly. The safe distance for following another vehicle varies depend ...

her that she's not concentrating on the road ahead. She crashes into a parked car ( Vauxhall Astra Mark II) by the side of the road. Her son, who is sitting directly behind her, is thrown forward, killing her instantly as her

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...

is smashed in by his forehead. The film ends with her lifeless body lying across the wheel. Her daughter is screaming in horror in the front passenger seat. Her son slumps back into his seat with a just bleeding

nasal fracture A nasal fracture, commonly referred to as a broken nose, is a fracture of one of the bones of the nose. Symptoms may include bleeding, swelling, bruising, and an inability to breathe through the nose. They may be complicated by other facial frac ...

, confused as to what just happened.

Reception

It originally carried the

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...

"Belt up in the back. For everyone's sake." and later "Think! Always wear a seatbelt." Since 5 November 2007, Think! have begun airing the PIF in a shorter, thirty second advert.

References

External links

Think! - Seatbelts
- UK Department for Transport page on seatbelts - "Julie" PIF & others right margin. * - Video from the preceding link. {{Department for Transport (United Kingdom) , state=collapsed 1998 films Public information films Department for Transport Automotive safety 1990s educational films British educational films