YOURS was recently involved in a project to assist the World Health Organization in identifying public service announcements (PSAs) for road safety. The finished result is a searchable online database of effective road safety PSAs from around the world illustrating impactful road safety campaigns.
Worldwide more than 1.2 million people die as a result of a road traffic crash each year, and as many as 50 million more are injured. Most of these tragedies can be prevented through improvements in roads, vehicles, and people’s behaviour in terms of avoiding speeding, drinking and driving, and distracted driving and using motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints. In terms of people’s behaviour, such actions can be promoted through the development of comprehensive road safety legislation and the rigorous enforcement thereof.
To increase public awareness of road safety laws and to persuade the public to abide by them, national and local governments complement legislation and enforcement with the broadcasting of mass media campaigns through television and radio. The most powerful of these campaigns highlight what happens when people fail to abide by the law and the resulting consequences in terms of death, injury and disability as well as fines and imprisonment.
This online library of road safety video and audio campaigns – which will continue to expand in the years ahead – was produced to inspire governments and other agencies wishing to develop their own mass media campaigns. It provides some of the best campaigns from around the world, showcasing possible concepts in order to save time and expense for those wishing to develop such campaigns.
The campaigns included are among those which have been evaluated to be effective or are otherwise of a high-quality production standard with clear and targeted messages promoting the good practices in road safety identified by WHO and partners worldwide. Each campaign is presented with a one-page description highlighting details about the campaign and providing contact information and links to related materials.