Effort was made in 2006 to publicise road safety and drive home the message ‘Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong’s Goal’. Public light buses and other road safety themes were also included in this publicity programme.
To reach the widest possible audience, messages were shared via television, radio, outdoor advertising, print materials, press releases, events and activities. Partnership programmes were also used to increase community participation.
Smart Driving with Courtesy
In 2006, the Road Safety Council adopted the theme ‘Smart Driving with Courtesy’ to encourage drivers to be more courteous and to give way to other road users.
A new TV Announcement in the Public Interest (API) was produced to publicise this important message. Using eye-catching animated characters, including a pink rabbit and a cuddly teddy bear, this TV API helped emphasise the feel-good factor of courtesy and helped portray courtesy in a more memorable, charming way. The key message of the campaign was that when drivers give way to other road users, their good manners will be rewarded with a warm and friendly smile. The API also featured the slogan ‘When you’re courteous, you’re happy too’ to effectively reinforce the recall rate among viewers.
The complete campaign package included a radio API aimed at cyclists, as well as traffic bulletins and tunnel billboards. A large-scale radio event was also launched in February and March 2007, covering three popular radio programmes on three different radio channels, which collectively reached a broad cross-section of the community. Audience participation and other feedback indicated that the campaign was very successful in delivering its road safety message and increasing public awareness of courtesy on the road.
Building on this success, Road Safety billboards featuring the slogan ‘Drive Smart with Courtesy’ were mounted at the Cross Harbour Tunnel and Eastern Harbour Tunnel in April and May 2007.
Safe Cycling
A new radio API was produced in January 2007, to broadcast the importance of safe cycling. The message included an admonition to cyclists not to cycle on the pavement and a reminder to pedestrians not to walk in bike lanes. Banners and posters were also produced to promote these messages.
During the publicity and enforcement period, the police distributed leaflets and laminated cards to leisure cyclists and cyclists transporting commercial goods.
Drink Driving
Publicity against drink driving was stepped up in June and July to coincide with the World Cup 2006. To raise public awareness of drink driving and its dangers, the Council also took steps to enhance broadcasts of its drink-driving API, particularly in pubs.
Road Safety Vision and Symbol
The Council launched a fun new symbol to promote its long-term vision of ‘Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong’s Goal’. The egg-shaped symbol denotes zero, as in the vision of ‘Zero Accidents on the Road’, while the S-shaped green road wrapped around it represents road safety. The symbol also features a red heart embedded with the letters ‘HK’, which acts as a reminder that all citizens must be committed to road safety to achieve the goal of zero accidents.
A TV API has also been produced for this landmark campaign. The API features a group of children at a crossing in a Road Safety Town setting, and begins with the appeal “Safety is of paramount importance on the road”. The children are then shown observing the traffic signals and following the road safety rules. Our egg-shaped road safety symbol is also on hand to guide the children safely cross the road.
Five short films carrying various road safety messages have also been broadcast on video walls in 2006 and early-2007. Their messages include reminders to pedestrians not to cross roads between cars and to obey traffic signals, as well as advice to parents to take care of their children when crossing roads, and warnings that children should not play on the roads.
A launch ceremony and carnival promoting our new Road Safety Vision and symbol were held in April 2006. The events were enthusiastically supported by hundreds of adults and children. To further raise public awareness of road safety and ensure a fun and educational day for people of all ages, the carnival also featured a number of specially designed booth games.
RSC Online
Since it was launched in 2002, the Road Safety website (www.roadsafety.gov.hk) has proven its value as an educational tool and a powerful resource for raising the public’s awareness of road safety.
On average in 2006, the site received 632 visits per day, and a total of 230,767 online hits. The site features a variety of hyperlinks to help the public access more information. To offer a more stimulating and interesting web experience that encourages repeat visits, the site’s look and feel and traffic-related statistics are also updated on a regular basis.
Promotional Gifts
In 2006, the Council produced a huge range of ball pens, folders, memo clips, towels and other give-away items bearing promotional slogans, including attractive mini-torches for reading maps. Designed to help remind people about road safety, these fun and useful souvenirs were distributed via our Road Safety Bus and by Police Regional Road Safety Teams during street educational events, road safety talks and other seminars, campaigns and carnivals.
Our print materials now cover a wide range of road safety topics, including information for specific target groups such as users and operators of school transport, as well as bus passengers. In 2006, these printed materials were distributed in the street and in talks, seminars and at other publicity events via the Road Safety Bus and our Regional Road Safety Teams. Many printed items were also distributed through the Transport Department’s Licensing Offices and District Offices as well as via Police Stations and Report Centres.
Outdoor Advertising
We continue to use high-visibility outdoor advertising to communicate essential road safety messages to the public. In 2006, the Council maximised its exposure using tunnel billboards and other means, such as advertising on buses, taxis, roadside banners, buntings and notice board posters at public facilities.
Our new Road Safety Campaign was launched on 25 November 2006. The launch ceremony, at Police Headquarters in Arsenal Street, Wanchai, and officiating guests were Mr TANG King-shing, the Chairman of the Road Safety Council; Mr WONG Chi-kong, JP, the Commissioner for Transport, and; Mr YU Kam-kee, BBS, JP, Chairman of the Road Safety Campaign Committee.
Public Light Bus Safety Campaign
Public light buses (PLB) are a vital form of transportation in Hong Kong. To enhance road safety awareness in the PLB sector and encourage safe driving practices by PLB drivers, the Council and the Transport Department co-organised a territory-wide publicity campaign under the long-term vision of ‘Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong’s Goal’.
At the launch ceremony in January 2006, a number of full-time PLB drivers were invited to take part in the campaign. Participants were required to pass a quiz and write a short essay on PLB safety. Spot checks were later conducted on the semi-finalists to assess their behaviour and service quality. The finalists were interviewed on their experiences of road safety and a prize presentation ceremony was held in May 2006.
An independent survey was commissioned by the Council in 2006 to devise new measures to promote the use of seat belts on public light buses (PLBs). Conducted by a research firm, the survey sought to ascertain why passengers did not wear seat belts on PLBs. It would also assess the effectiveness of publicity campaigns and enforcement actions, study overseas practices in the enforcement and publicity of seat belt legislation, and suggest new publicity measures that can be used to increase the use of seat belts on PLBs.
The survey’s findings are currently being compiled and the final report will be available in 2007.
District Council Visits
In 2006, Council members conducted regular visits to the Traffic and Transport Committees of Hong Kong’s District Councils to enlist local support for the promotion of road safety activities. These visits also helped boost communications with local authorities and enhance understanding of the Council’s work. To date, members have visited the District Councils of Shatin, Yau Tsim Mong, Central and Western, Eastern, Wong Tai Sin and Tai Po.
APIs form an important part of road safety publicity. Informative, useful and sometimes even amusing, our APIs all carry a vital message. We invite you to view them here, particularly if you missed them when they first appeared on TV! <<http://www.isd.gov.hk/eng/api_more.htm>>
Press Releases
The following press releases were issued for major Council events in 2006:
1)
Launch of the PLB safety campaign (10 January 2006)
2)
Launch of the road safety vision and campaign symbol (23 April 2006)
3)
PLB safety campaign prize presentation (12 May 2006)
4)
Call for continued vigilance against road accidents (Road Safety Council Campaign Launching Ceremony) (25 November 2006)
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