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This video about texting and driving shows footage of a car crash.

Many posters on YouTube claim that it is "obvious" that the crash is fake. It is not obvious to me either way.

Is this footage from an actual crash?

Oddthinking
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Martin Argerami
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    Is there a notable claim that the footage is *authentic*? I would fully *expect* an advertising campaign to use staged footage. -- (@mods: Geez, guys. You can really overdo it with the removal of comments. This is a question for clarification of the question, with a slant toward a clear reason for closing it, and I really don't see *any* reason for tossing it out with all the rest.) – DevSolar Nov 09 '18 at 08:41
  • This commercial is part of the (South african) Western Cape Government's Safely Home initiative, made by ad agency [Foote Cone Belding](https://www.fcb.com/). [Here's the project](https://www.fcb.com/our-work/it-can-wait). They don't say anything about the reality of the video, though. –  Nov 09 '18 at 09:46

2 Answers2

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No, it is not a real accident.

The advert was created by Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB), on behalf of the Western Cape Government and AT&T's #ItCanWait campaign.

It is discussed in an AdWeek article:

FCB Cape Town confirms to AdFreak that the accident at the end was a “recreation, based on an actual incident.”

Oddthinking
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I am going to guess that this is staged.

here is the original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRYv_2JRCT0

Here is the gov't agency from the credits, and their #ItCanWait campaign: https://safelyhome.westerncape.gov.za/campaigns/1722
They do post videos of real crashes: https://safelyhome.westerncape.gov.za/galleries/crash-witness-5
Maybe somebody can look through all of them to see check if footage is from there.

But:

  • They do employ a professional company to make those videos:
    http://www.co-optv.com/co-op/Safely-Home/crash-6

  • A real crash video would likely carry a warning, like they did with real crashes above. And it would be very insensitive to mix it with "comedic" content earlier in the clip.

  • How exactly was that crash filmed?

    • Dashboard cameras are not uncommon, but most point to the front. Cameras that capture the driver are used in buses, police cars. But then again, she might be an Uber driver, and used camera for safety. Is there Uber-like service in SA?
    • Camera did not get knocked out of position by the crash. These cameras are typically held in place by a fairly flimsy bracket.
    • Camera might be be on the outside of the windshield, given that we see small smudges on the glass in front of it. If you smudge the lens directly, you get much larger smudges.
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