THE Bournemouth company behind Dorset Police's latest road safety campaign were inspired by a self-styled 'party game for horrible people'.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the new initiative to keep people safe on the county's roads is loosely based on Cards Against Humanity.

The idea, #ChoicesForHumanity, was created by company Fireworx for Dorset Road Safe.

CEO Daniel Smith took part in a three-hour road safety awareness course – usually attended by motorists caught speeding – before starting work on the campaign.

He said: “We were approached by Dorset Road Safety Partnership to come up with an eye-catching and memorable campaign with a brief of getting road users to respect each other.

“We wanted to avoid being patronising towards road-users while utilising our disruptive thinking ethos to deliver a campaign distinct from anything in the past."

Designers hoped to create an "empathetic and thought-provoking campaign" which would "make people smile".

“Road safety awareness campaigns typically put the emphasis on the life-changing outcomes such as death, serious injury and imprisonment," Mr Smith said.

“We saw an opportunity to use a subtler, edgier concept to help the campaign stand-out, and hopefully make all road-users – drivers, cyclists, riders and pedestrians – stop and think about their behaviour and choices.

“As a Bournemouth agency, it’s a true privilege to support such a worthwhile campaign to improve road safety in Dorset."

Kristian Ward, who works in Dorset Police's communications department, said: “The objective of this campaign is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on Dorset’s roads.

"While we have achieved a 30 per cent reduction since 2012, it is vital we continue to find innovative and intelligence-led ways to make our roads safer."

#ChoicesForHumanity posters can be seen on billboards around the county. It will also be promoted via mobile advertising trailers, matrix boards and targeted social media posts.

“There are 19 distinct messages within the campaign and we believe the recognizable content and unconventional format will resonate with road-users and have an increasingly positive impact," Mr Ward said.

The road safety partnership is made up of Dorset Police, Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Dorset Council, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, Highways England, Public Health Dorset and the Safewise charity.