A concept car that protects Black drivers at traffic stops is coming to the Detroit Auto Show

Black drivers are 20% more likely than other drivers to be stopped and searched by police, and three times more likely to be killed by officers during encounters, according to the Courageous Conversation Global Foundation. Now, the group is highlighting that double standard in memorable fashion by digitally designing a concept car, coming to the Detroit Auto Show as an AR experience, that protects Black drivers during traffic stops. The so-called “DWB” (which stands for “Driving While Black”)—which is a digital prototype, not a fully built physical car—includes features such as transparent doors to ward off police suspicion, a "10 & 2" steering wheel that keeps the driver’s hands visible at all times, and no trunk in the back so officers have nothing to search or seize. The video below explains more. Omnicom agencies Goodby Silverstein & Partners and Critical Mass worked on the project, with digital design by The Mill. The car’s design was inspired in part by the white 1997 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight LS that Philando Castile was murdered in during a 2016 traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. The film, narrated by Craig Mitchell, is accompanied by an interactive website at DWBAuto.com and a 360-degree mobile AR activation at the 2023 Detroit Auto Show, which begins Wednesday. “No, the car isn’t real, but its design speaks to our reality as Black people in this country,” said Glenn Singleton, founder and chairman of CCGF. “I wish we could design every car brand, make and model in this way, because if you’re Black and behind the wheel, you can become a statistic, simply because of your race. It matters less what, where and/or how you drive.” “The car itself is absurd, but we want to make sure the film and website treated this like the car was real,” said Rony Castor, creative director at GS&P. “In order for people to know and feel this issue, creating a car was necessary.” “There's a double standard Black people face when being stopped by police that almost nobody sees. DWB illustrates the reality so many of us face while driving,” added Anthony O’Neill, GS&P creative director. “We have a duty, responsibility and obligation to tell these stories in the most real and provocative way we can think of.” GS&P has worked on projects with the CCGF for years, beginning with “Not a Gun,” which launched in February 2020, three months before George Floyd’s death, and shed light on the issue of police brutality against Black people.

A concept car that protects Black drivers at traffic stops is coming to the Detroit Auto Show

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