A new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that from 2018 to 2022, advertisements emphasizing vehicle performance increased even as deaths linked to speeding and aggressive driving continued to mount.
Forty-three percent of vehicle ads aired during 2018, 2020 and 2022 highlighted speed, maneuverability, traction, stopping or power.
“Showing a stunt driver zooming around a tight turn in the rain might seem harmless, but these ads reinforce our cultural obsession with speed,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “The fine print may caution that it’s a professional driver on a closed course, but the message they convey is that you can drive this way too.”
