The fear of failing practical driving tests, fuelled by being unsure of what to expect, has our young drivers paralysed and pass rates in the gutter.
The mission:
Combat the growing fear amongst young New Zealand drivers by allowing them to get more comfortable in the driver’s seat from the safety of their own home.
The solution:
Utilise the latest in virtual reality (VR) technology to deliver a truly valuable, and most importantly, educational experience.
The execution:
Working with a specialist team of directors, videographers, road safety experts, driving instructors, producers, sound technicians and developers we created the world’s first VR driving test experience. To get into the (sweaty shaky) hands of young drivers preparing for the test we designed and launched a free native mobile app. The app was promoted with a nation-wide media campaign, and to top things off, all new sign ups received a free Drive VR cardboard headset for the ultimate in educational immersion. The experience married VR gaze technology with real 360 footage from New Zealand streets. The result is a realistic test like experience where users are tasked with identifying hazards (a revered aspect of the practical test) during a 3 minute drive. Once the in car testing officer asks you to pull over you are given feedback on mirror checks, window checks, hazard identification and your overall score.
The results:
Since it’s launch in December 2017, Drive VR has contributed over 40% of new signs ups to the Drive programme with 6,500 new users signing up via the app so far. Not to toot our own horn, but, Drive VR has already been featured on TV One News, Radio New Zealand, Idealog Magazine and Stoppress. Toot toot.
