Peugeot advert BANNED because this in-car feature is dangerous

The ASA has told Peugeot it must ensure future ads don't encourage dangerous driving

Peugeot advert BANNED because this built-in feature is dangerous

An advert showing a Peugeot 208 driver glancing at a text message displayed on his car’s infotainment screen has been banned for encouraging irresponsible driving.

Five separate complaints from viewers over the advert, which aired on TV in July, led to an investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

As part of the Peugeot 208’s Mirror Screen system, which mirrors the driver’s phone onto its infotainment screen, drivers can read incoming text messages and send pre-written templates. In the advert, a driver can be seen reading a message which says “I’m bored without you!”.

Responding on behalf of Peugeot, Clearcast, a firm which pre-approves adverts for television, said the Highway Code permitted a driver to adjust music or the radio. They believed the action of the driver looking momentarily at a message on a screen in the dashboard was no worse and less distracting than that.

The ASA disagreed, however, noting that the Highway Code advises drivers to avoid distractions, giving “starting or adjusting any music or radio” as an example of a distraction (rule 148); that using hands-free equipment was “likely to distract your attention from the road” (rule 149); that there was “danger of driver distraction being caused by in-vehicle systems such as satellite navigation systems, congestion warning systems, PCs, multi-media, etc” and that drivers “MUST exercise proper control of your vehicle at all times”.

It upheld the complaints, saying that reading the text message “amounted to a distraction that would have prevented him being aware of, and/or being in control of, other actions that were necessary for safe driving”.

Peugeot has been told it cannot display the advert again in its current form, and that its future ads should not condone or encourage dangerous or irresponsible driving.

>NEXT: Citroen’s ConnectedCam ISN’T distracting for drivers, rules ASA

Related Articles

Andrew Brady
Andrew Brady
Web editor at MR. Drives a 2005 Toyota MR2. Has a penchant for the peculiar.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Find a Car Review

Latest

Salon Privé London to host three days of champagne and supercars

Salon Privé London returns to the Royal Hospital in Chelsea next month, with special celebrations of McLaren and the Porsche 911 Turbo.

New Volkswagen ID.Buzz GTX gets 340hp and all-wheel drive

The retro-styled ID. Buzz people carrier is now offered with 340hp, making for an unlikely addition to Volkswagen’s sporty GTX range.

Kia EV9 is World Car of the Year 2024

The Kia EV9 is the latest pure electric car to be named World Car of the Year – and it also scooped the World Electric Vehicle 2024 prize

How to protect your car with an OBD port locking device

We explain how to prevent your car being stolen by criminals targeting its On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port.