To highlight this ambition — together with Volkswagen’s new IQ.DRIVE features — the brand has launched a campaign that uses a new paint technology to showcase the impressive functionality of Blind Spot Monitoring, a feature that sees what you don't.

According to the South African Government's website, road fatalities are a major contributor to unnatural deaths in South Africa, with approximately 40 people per day losing their lives on the road. This amounts to over 14 000 deaths annually.

According to the brand, many accidents are caused by objects in drivers' blind spots, which we simply cannot see, from overtaking vehicles and delivery drivers to:
  • scooters
  • motorbikes, and
  • cyclists.

Volkswagen says that its IQ.DRIVE Blind Spot Monitoring is a high-tech radar system that scans the side and rear of your vehicle and alerts drivers to potential hazards that they otherwise might not see via a lighting display on the side mirror.

Dedicated to creating safer journeys for all road users, Volkswagen adds that it is creating awareness for not only its Blind Spot Monitoring feature but also the dangers of the blind spot, together with road safety awareness. This is through a series of installations that people (literally) never saw coming.

The brand uses a specialised paint known as 'Black 3.0'. It is so dark that it absorbs light and removes all definitions. Volkswagen has created a series of "invisible" life-size installations showcased in selected Volkswagen Dealers and public locations that feature objects commonly found, or rather missed, in a driver's blind spot.

The objects inside each installation, upon initial inspection, are "invisible", as they are undefinably painted in Black 3.0 against black darkness; but when onlookers scan the installation using an Augmented Reality (AR) filter, the actual object in front of them is revealed. This highlights not only the dangers of the blind spot but the benefits of Volkswagen's Blind Spot Monitoring system, together with other IQ.DRIVE features.

"As leaders in the automotive industry, we cannot simply ignore the dangers on our roads in this country. With safety as one of our core DNA principles, we are committed to ensuring not only safer roads for our drivers but for all — no matter their mode of transport," says Bridget Harpur, head of marketing for Volkswagen Passenger Cars Brand.

"Our 'Blind Spot' campaign is designed to highlight some of the innovative features of our new IQ.DRIVE system that seeks to make safe driving intuitive and create awareness for road safety issues, for all, on their respective journeys," concludes Harpur.

According to the brand, the campaign is the first in what will be a series of safety initiatives from Volkswagen, which aim to shed light on road safety issues in South Africa and highlight the technology available to Volkswagen drivers to assist in these challenges.

For more information, visit www.vw.co.za. You can also follow Volkswagen on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.