The European Road Safety Charter has published an insightful guide on how to run effective road safety awareness campaigns, highlighting their role in improving road safety, including in urban areas. Alongside other measures like legislation, enforcement, and education, these campaigns are essential tools for promoting long-term behavioural change. The guide provides practical advice on how to design, implement, and evaluate such campaigns to enhance road safety efforts. It also includes examples of campaigns from cities across Europe, illustrating how these intiaitives have contributed to safer road use and reduced accidents.
These initiatives aim to inform, persuade, and encourage individuals to adopt safer behaviours on the road. Research suggests that well-designed campaigns can lead to a 5-10 % reduction in road crashes, reinforcing their importance in broader road safety strategies.
Objectives of road safety campaigns
Road safety awareness campaigns typically focus on one or more of the following objectives:
- Informing the public about new or revised road laws to ensure compliance and understanding (e.g., France’s 2018 campaign on reducing the speed limit to 80 km/h aimed to educate drivers on its impact on road safety).
- Raising awareness about potential risks and encouraging preventive behaviours (e.g., Ireland’s 2016 tyre safety campaign).
- Addressing underlying factors that influence driving behaviour, particularly social norms, such as attitudes toward drink driving (e.g., Belgium’s annual Bob campaign, running since 1996).
- Encouraging safer driving practices and reducing risky behaviours, such as speeding, to promote responsible road use (e.g., the UK’s THINK! speeding campaign).
- Reducing the frequency and severity of road crashes by fostering long-term changes in attitudes and behaviours (e.g., Australia’s Youthsafe programme, established in 1982).
Designing an effective campaign
For road safety campaigns to succeed, they must reach their target audience and ensure that the message is understood and acted upon. Research highlights six key steps to developing a successful campaign:
- Identifying the problem and target audience: Defining the issue the campaign seeks to address and understanding the affected demographic through qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
- Developing the campaign strategy: Crafting key messages, selecting effective communication channels, and establishing campaign objectives and logistics.
- Pre-testing the campaign: Assessing the campaign’s impact before launch to refine messaging and ensure effectiveness.
- Implementing the campaign: Executing the planned strategy while ensuring engagement and visibility.
- Evaluating effectiveness: Measuring the impact of the campaign on road safety outcomes and assessing adherence to budget constraints.
- Reporting and future improvements: Documenting results, insights, and lessons learned to refine future campaigns.
Measuring campaign success
Evaluating the effectiveness of road safety campaigns remains a complex challenge due to external factors such as enforcement measures and broader road safety initiatives. Despite these difficulties, research supports a correlation between awareness campaigns and reduced road crashes.
Several factors contribute to the success of these campaigns, including:
- Evidence-based messaging: Using scientific research and behavioural theories to shape campaign content.
- Contextual relevance: Tailoring messages to the social and cultural environment of the target audience.
- Clear and persuasive communication: Delivering credible and compelling messages that resonate with road users.
- Integration with other measures: Combining campaigns with education, enforcement, and legislative efforts to enhance their overall impact.
When road safety campaigns are integrated with stricter police controls and broader safety initiatives, their impact in reducing road incidents increases significantly. As governments and organisations continue to invest in awareness efforts, ensuring evidence-based and well-targeted campaigns remains essential for creating safer roads for all users.
The European Road Safety Charter hosted a webinar in December 2024 on “Transforming Attitudes: Effective Campaign Strategies for Road Safety Equipment”. The webinar covered the latest insights into protective equipment, and innovative road safety campaigns across Europe. The full recording is available here.
