VML and the Flemish Roads and Traffic Agency make sure the message sticks

We've all met one on the road: that driver sitting just a little too close to your bumper. Tailgating, it's called. In Flanders we call it "bumperkleven" (sticking to bumpers) and it causes nearly 1,000 crashes a year on our motorways. Time to tackle it. Or better yet, time to make it stick.

Since 1 August, the Flemish Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer) has taken to the road with a new road-safety campaign: Sticking to bumpers is for bumper stickers. (Bumperkleven is voor bumperstickers)

From road pirate to road cowboy

Fittingly, the campaign centers on bumper stickers. Three versions, each a wink at a type of driver we all recognise: the road pirate, the speed demon and the road cowboy. On roadside billboards, each delivers the same in-your-face message in its own unmistakable style: sticking to bumpers is for bumper stickers. Keep a two-second gap.

The 2-second rule in 15 seconds

Who better to explain how not to become a tailgater than bumper stickers themselves? In a series of short online films, they demonstrate exactly how the two-second rule works:

Pick a fixed point along the road. Wait for the car ahead to pass it. Count to two. Do you only reach that point after two seconds? Then you're keeping a safe distance.

Simple, safe, and soon the law. From 1 June 2027, the two-second rule becomes the official minimum following distance in Belgium's updated highway code.

​Bumper stickers that really do stick

Best of all: the campaign's bumper stickers are real. Drivers can pick them up for free at a range of pick-up points, including select fuel and charging stations (Q8, Shell, Fastned). That way, the message keeps sticking, quite literally, with other drivers on the road.

The campaign runs throughout August on roadside billboards and social media. All campaign info and materials can be found at wegenenverkeer.be/tweeseconden.

Thanks for your time ✌️

CREDITS

Client: Vlaams Agentschap Wegen & Verkeer
​Client Contact: Katrien Kiekens
​Agency: VML Belgium
​Executive Creative Directors: Kasper Janssens & Arjen Tarras
​Creatives: Sarah Huysmans, Jasper Verleije
​Strategic Director: Jef Pelkmans
​Account Director: Pieter Van Schil
​Account Manager: Jessica Jacobs
​Design Director: Timothy Helmer ​
​Designer: Laurens "Lauborghini" Maes
​DTP: Anja Van den Broeck, Theo Hagtingius, Jan-Bart Debruyne ​
​Print Producer: Sofie Verschaeren
​Print Agency: Albe De Coker
​Agency Producer: Evelyn Twadrous
​Editor: Andreas De Ridder
​Sound Engineer: Menno Van Riet