Publicity

Achieving our vision of road safety requires a concerted effort in multiple areas, especially publicity. In 2015, 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.

Elderly Pedestrian Safety

Publicity activities throughout the year continued to address the safety of elderly pedestrians. The Council worked closely with various stakeholders to conduct education and publicity campaigns in areas with relatively high numbers of traffic accidents involving elderly pedestrians. Much of this work was focused on pedestrian education and, with the help of Elderly Road Safety Ambassadors, the elderly were reminded to use proper road crossing facilities, such as signal controlled pedestrian crossings, zebra crossings, footbridges and pedestrian subways.

The Council held a phone-in quiz competition from July 2015 to January 2016, in conjunction with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), involving 40 teams from elderly centres in different areas of Hong Kong. Besides the quiz competition, it also organised, jointly with RTHK, the ‘Elderly Road Safety Mini Film “All About Love” Kick-off Ceremony’ and the ‘Elderly Pedestrian Road Safety Happy Classroom’. To raise public awareness of the elderly pedestrian safety, the Council further held two publicity events: the ‘Shatin Road Safety Park Open Day cum Elderly Pedestrian Safety Promotion Campaign’ in April, and the ‘Sharp Smart Elderly Pedestrian Safety Promotion Campaign Launch Event’ in August. A total of 180 bus shelter advertisements were also displayed in January and February to promote the elderly pedestrian safety.

Cycling Safety

The safety of cyclists continues to be a concern as the number of traffic accidents involving bicycles increased slightly from 2 433 in 2014 to 2 511 in 2015.

Pamphlets conveying relevant traffic regulations, responsibilities of cyclists on the road and best practices when using cycling tracks are widely distributed to cyclists, pedestrians and people who employ cyclists for rural and urban goods delivery.

The Council and the Police conducted three publicity campaigns to promote safe cycling in July, August and October. The three campaigns were the ‘Safe and Joyful Crossing in Hong Kong cum Cycling Safety Kick Off Ceremony’, held in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre open area, the ‘Safe Cycling Promotion cum Safety Ambassador Scheme Award Presentation Ceremony’, held in Tseung Kwan O Waterfront Park, and the ‘Cycling Safety Promotion Campaign 2015’, held in the open space outside Central Pier No. 10. The campaigns promoted safe cycling and the importance of wearing a helmet and other protective equipment. Council members also gave out leaflets to spread cycling safety messages. In order to enhance cycling safety among students, the Council organised the ‘Safe Cycling Training Programme’ to educate students of primary and secondary schools about cycling rules and safety.

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.

Anti-Drink Driving

The number of drivers arrested in traffic accidents involving drink driving increased by 21% from 221 in 2014 to 264 in 2015. 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’, aiming to disseminate the message to all sectors of society.

The Council reinforced its anti–drink driving message by deploying flyover banners, parking meter stickers and bus advertisements, and also conducted publicity events with the Hong Kong Police Force in entertainment areas throughout the territory.

The campaign against drink driving was maintained through a series of proactive programmes. 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.

We will continue to conduct anti–drink driving publicity campaigns and the Police will increase the use of random breath testing to enhance safety awareness among the public.

Anti-Drug Driving

The Council formulated a publicity and education plan to alert drivers to the adverse effects of drugs on their driving ability.

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 buses.

Driving Attentively

‘Driving inattentively’ has been the top driver contributory factor in traffic accidents for the past five years. Since 2014, the Council has promoted the theme of ‘Driving Attentively’ to remind drivers to pay more attention whilst driving. Banners 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 buses. An API that promotes attentive driving and discourages the use of mobile phones and electronic devices while driving has been broadcast on TV and radio since 9 January 2015. During the year, large banners with the slogan ‘No distractions, pay attention to the road ahead’ were also displayed along major traffic routes and on popular media platforms, emphasising the negative consequences of driving inattentively.

To increase public awareness of the need to drive attentively, the Council held the 42nd Anniversary Ceremony cum Anti–Drink Driving, Anti–Drug Driving and Driving Attentively Road Safety Campaign at the Stanley Plaza amphitheatre in November.

Safe Driving and Health Campaign

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. A wide range of services and activities were delivered in the 2015 campaign, focusing on four major themes: ‘Safe Driving Attitude and Behaviour’, ‘Respect Other Road Users’, ‘No Drink Driving and Drug Driving’ and ‘Maintain Good Health Conditions’. The campaign programmes included the dissemination of safe driving and health messages through radio broadcasts and other publicity channels, and the provision of free health checks to commercial vehicle drivers.

Targeted Safety Messages

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 five main themes – Elderly Pedestrian Safety, Cycling Safety, Anti–Drink Driving, Anti–Drug Driving, and Driving Attentively – and will continue to be shown on television. ‘Driving inattentively’ has been the top driver contributory factor in traffic accidents for the past five years. A targeted API highlighting the dangers to road users has been broadcast on TV and radio since 9 January 2015 to remind drivers to be attentive whilst driving.

The Council Website

website: road_safety_campaigns2015.html

The Council website contains a range of road safety features and provides online access to all the Council’s publications, useful statistics and hyperlinks. It aims to effectively disseminate road safety information to the public and recorded a daily average of 3 315 visits in 2015.

The Council will continue to explore the use of all media platforms to best reach target audiences with tailored messages.

About the Road Safety Council

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