A couple are driving along when the driver’s phone rings... and he answers it, taking his attention off the road.

It’s a comic sketch with a deadly serious message aimed at adolescents, part of a road safety campaign taking place in schools.

The Street Smart Campaign, which started last year and targets students aged 11 to 13, is being carried out by Middlesea Insurance and Fundación Mapfre, the non-profit arm of Mapfre Group of which Middlesea Insurance is a member.

The campaign will this year reach more than 4,000 students in Forms 3 and 4 from a number of schools across Malta and Gozo.

The sketches by animation group Generation Green make the campaign fun and engaging for the young.

Centred on safety in cars and on motorcycles, the scripts get students to understand the importance of crucial road signs and the wearing of proper safety clothing, among other aspects of staying safe. Students are also given a reading book related to roadside education.

Statistics show that, in 2014, 1,796 people were injured in traffic accidents, with fatalities amounting to 10. Of these, 73.8 per cent of casualties were caused by passenger cars and 15.5 per cent by motorcycles.

“Road safety is an important concern for Middlesea Insurance. We want people to be safe while on the road.

“Educating young people on the rules of road safety has to be something continuous as this is the only way to avoid fatalities,” said Alfredo Munoz, president and CEO of Middlesea Insurance.