'Fear the Beard' - Bay Area Air Quality District Debuts Comical TV Ads [VIDEO]

News from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District:

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has unveiled a clever new television ad, “ The Beard,” a hilarious campaign which encourages drivers to find a #BetterWayToWork.

The Air District’s new Beard ad was created as a light-hearted spot to convey an important and urgent message: the negative aspects of commuting alone. Driving decisions have an impact not just on how long we spend in the car each day, but also on our overall health, productivity and lifestyle. Recent Bay Area surveys show that 68 percent of respondents drive alone to work and never use transit.

These findings, coupled with the Air District’s research identifying motor vehicles as responsible for 75 percent of smog in the Bay Area, provide clear evidence that finding alternatives to driving solo is important for improving our lives and wellbeing.

Our health and lifestyle are being hit just as hard as our roads. While traffic congestion steals valuable time—the average Bay Area commuter spent 56 hours in traffic in 2013—our health is also at risk.

Studies show that those who commute more than 15 miles to work are more likely to be obese. Greater commuting distances are also associated with decreased cardiorespiratory fitness and increased blood pressure.

The Air District’s new ad campaign is running throughout the Bay Area in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Tagalog.

Health and productivity issues related to solo commuting

· Commute distance has a stronger correlation with obesity than any other lifestyle factor. Only 20 percent of drivers with a commute under 15 miles are obese while 33 percent of drivers with a commute over 15 miles are obese. (2006 UCLA and Cal State-Long Beach study)

· Those who commute more than 15 miles to work are more likely to be obese. (2012 study from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine)

· Greater commuting distances are associated with decreased cardiorespiratory fitness, increased weight and increased blood pressure. (2012 Washington University of St. Louis study)

· Those with long commutes reported more everyday stress, exhaustion, and missed work days. (2011 BMC Public Health study)

· Commuting costs U.S. employers up to $90 billion per year. (2010 Urban Mobility Report)

Traffic issues related to solo commuting

· San Francisco has the second-worst congestion in the U.S. (2013 TomTom Traffic Index Report)

· In 2013 the average Bay Area commuter spent 56 hours in traffic. (INRIX Traffic Scorecard)

· In 2013 a driver in San Francisco with a 30-minute commute spent 83 hours stuck in traffic. (TomTom Traffic Index Report)

· In the Bay Area 71 percent of people commute to work and of those, 80 percent drive their own vehicle. (KPIX5/SurveyUSA poll)

· As the economy improves and unemployment levels go down, traffic worsens, as most commuters still like to drive their own cars. (KPIX5/SurveyUSA poll)

· Bay Area bridges are two to three percent busier than they were last year. (Metropolitan Transpiration Commission)

· Seventy one percent of respondents think traffic congestion is a crisis in the region. (2014 Bay Area Council Survey)

Environment issues related to solo commuting

• More than 50 percent of a person’s daily exposure to particle pollution can occur during a commute. (California Air Resources Board estimates based on 2005 U.S. Census Bureau figures)

• Shuttles eliminate at least 327,000 single-passenger car trips and 11,000 tons of carbon annually.(San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority estimates based on findings from EMC Research)

• If you don’t smoke, driving to work is likely to be the unhealthiest part of yourday due to smog exposure.(2007 University of Southern California and the California Air Resources Board study)