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Achieving our road safety vision requires concerted effort in a number of areas, especially publicity. In 2014, the Council strengthened its existing publicity tools and created new platforms to highlight the most pressing road safety concerns in order to raise the community’s awareness of road safety.
The number of drivers arrested in traffic accidents involving drink driving decreased by 6% from 234 in 2013 to 221 in 2014. The Council is working to enhance public awareness of road safety through publicity and education. To remind people not to drive after drinking, the Council continues its use of the slogan ‘If you drink, don’t drive’ to disseminate its message to all sectors of society.
To combat drink driving, leaflets were produced to remind the public that penalties rise in scale with the severity of the offence – the higher the proportion of alcohol in excess of the prescribed limit, the longer the term of imprisonment and driving disqualification period. The Council also deployed roadside banners, parking meter stickers and bus body advertisements to reinforce the anti-drink driving message, and launched publicity events with the Hong Kong Police Force in entertainment areas throughout the territory.
The campaign against drink driving was also conducted through proactive events. Some 438 stickers bearing anti-drink driving messages were placed on parking meters throughout Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. Existing anti-drink driving banners placed on flyovers were relocated to better deliver their messages to drivers and other road users. Leaflets and souvenirs with the slogan ‘If you drink, don’t drive’ were distributed, particularly in major entertainment areas during the festive periods, such as Christmas and the Lunar New Year.
We will continue to conduct anti-drink driving publicity campaigns and the Police will increase the use of random breath tests to enhance safety awareness among the public.
The Council formulated a publicity and education plan to publicise the legislative amendment and to alert drivers to the possible effects of drugs on their driving ability. This included the broadcasting of two Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs) on radio and television, along with a range of publicity materials including the leaflet ‘Drug Driving – Never Risk it’.
In addition, anti-drug driving banners with the slogans ‘Drug Driving – Never Risk It’ and ‘Drug Driving – Zero Tolerance’ were placed on flyovers and footbridges above strategic roads with high traffic volumes, and advertisements were displayed on bus bodies.
‘Driving Inattentively’ has been the top driver contributory factor in traffic accidents for the past four years. This year, the Council launched the theme of ‘Driving Attentively’ to remind drivers to pay more attention whilst driving. Banners on the theme of driving attentively with the slogan ‘No Distractions, Drive Attentively’ were placed on flyovers and footbridges above strategic roads with high traffic volumes, and advertisements were displayed on bus bodies. The new API aiming to promote ‘Driving Attentively’ and discourage the use of mobile phones and electronic devices while driving has been broadcast on TV and radio since 9 January 2015. Large banners with the slogan ‘No Distractions, Drive Attentively’ have also been displayed on major traffic routes and popular media platforms, emphasising the negative consequences of driving inattentively.
Publicity activities throughout the year continued to address the safety of elderly pedestrians. The Council worked closely with District Councils to conduct education and publicity campaigns in areas with relatively high numbers of traffic accidents involving elderly pedestrians. Much of this work focused on pedestrian education and, with the assistance of Elderly Road Safety Ambassadors, the elderly were reminded to use proper road crossing facilities, such as traffic light controlled crossings, zebra crossings, pedestrian flyovers and pedestrian subways.
In order to bring the issue of elderly pedestrian safety to the attention of the general public, the Council, the Yuen Long District Council, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Road Safety Patrol jointly held the Elderly Pedestrian Safety Bus Parade in Yuen Long District in May 2014. The Council held a phone-in quiz from July to November 2014, in conjunction with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), involving 39 teams from a cross-section of organisations supporting the elderly. A road safety mini-movie for the elderly called ‘All About Love’ was produced by RTHK and broadcast in November 2014. Members of the public were encouraged to share the message of ‘Love yourself, Love your family, Be a smart pedestrian’ with their friends and family members. A total of 180 bus shelter advertisements were displayed to promote the safety of elderly pedestrians in the territory, from January to February 2015.
The safety of recreational and occupational cyclists continues to be a concern despite the number of traffic accidents involving bicycles decreasing from 2,549 in 2013 to 2,433 in 2014.
Pamphlets conveying relevant traffic regulations, responsibilities of cyclists on the road and best practices when using cycling tracks have been widely distributed to cyclists, pedestrians and persons who employ cyclists for rural and urban goods delivery.
The Council and the Hong Kong Police Force conducted two major publicity campaigns, in November and December respectively. These were the opening ceremony of the ‘2014 Outlying Islands Safe Cycling Campaign’ on Cheung Chau and the ‘2014 Lantau Safe Cycling Carnival Ceremony’ in Tung Chung. The campaigns promoted safe cycling and the importance of wearing a helmet and other protective equipment. Members also gave out leaflets to spread cycling safety messages to the public in the campaigns.
To promote cycling safety, the Transport Department operates an internet-based Cycling Information Centre (CIC) (http://www.td.gov.hk/mini_site/cic/en/) to provide the public with convenient access to information on cycling, including safety. The CIC provides up-to-date information and reference materials such as riding rules, safety tips and laws relevant to cyclists and other road users to help the public create a safe cycling environment.
Every year, to enhance the safe driving skills and health awareness of commercial vehicle drivers, the Transport Department runs the Safe Driving and Health Campaign. Focusing on four major themes (‘No Drink Driving or Drug Driving’, ‘Safe Driving Attitudes and Behaviour’, ‘Respect Cyclists and Other Road Users’ and ‘Maintain Good Health Conditions’), a wide range of services and activities were delivered in the 2014 campaign. The campaign programmes included the dissemination of safe driving and health messages through radio stations and other publicity channels, and the provision of free health checks to commercial vehicle drivers in cooperation with non-profit medical organisations.
The broadcasting of APIs on various media platforms is an important and effective tool to promote road safety messages to the community. Several different APIs promote the Council’s four main themes – anti-drug driving, anti-drink driving, cycling safety and elderly pedestrian safety – and will continue to be broadcast on television. ‘Driving Inattentively’ has been the top driver contributory factor in traffic accidents for the past four years. In response, the Council launched the theme of ‘Driving Attentively’ this year to remind drivers to pay more attention whilst driving, and an API addressing the dangers to road users has been broadcast on TV and radio since 9 January 2015.
Website: www.roadsafety.gov.hk/en/campaign/road_safety_campaigns2014_II.html
The Council website contains a range of road safety features and provides online access to all of the Council’s publications, useful statistics and hyperlinks. It aims to effectively disseminate road safety information to the general public and recorded a daily average of 2,779 visits in 2014.
The Council will continue to explore the use of all media platforms to best reach target audiences with tailored messages.
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