PARENTS of primary school-aged children are the focus of a new road safety campaign.
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Launched on Wednesday, the Parent Role Modelling campaign will attempt to highlight the role parents play in shaping the driving behaviour of children.
The campaign consists of a television commercial - where a young boy attached to puppet strings mimics the erratic behaviour of his father, illustrating the power of parental role modelling.
It's based on international research linking the driving style of parents with that of their children when they get their P-plates.
Road Safe Central Victoria road safety officer Malcolm Pollitt praised the advertising campaign and said children were extremely impressionable, particularly at a young age.
"The ad is superb. It does not lecture but just demonstrates very effectively how children learn so much from their parents and their behaviours," he said.
"The research comes from Israel and demonstrates that children - especially in the four to 12 age group - are very influenced by their parents as role models and they tend to replicate the behaviours of their parents that they observe during that time as they get older.
"If a parent uses a mobile phone while they are driving then children think it's OK because their mum or dad is doing it. The same if they drive aggressively. It's very important that parents act as a positive role model."
The new campaign is the first time the Transport Accident Commission has targeted primary school children to reduce road trauma.
It aims to reduce road trauma among drivers aged 18 to 25 - who make up 12 per cent of drivers in Victoria yet account for about one in five deaths.
Mr Pollitt said the young motorists aged 18 to 22 were at the highest risk of being involved in a collision.
He encouraged parents to talk about road safety in front of their children and to make it part of the "family conversation".