The West Midlands Road Safety Partnership has launched a new campaign in a bid to reduce the number of pedestrian casualties in the region.
The bus back adverts, which feature faces symbolically blemished by a tyre tread, are designed to encourage drivers to look out for pedestrians. The campaign has been previously used in the USA and has been provided free of charge to the West Midlands Road Safety Partnership.
Councillor Keith Linnecor, chair of the West Midlands Road Safety Board, said: “Unfortunately, in our region pedestrian casualties are over represented – 18% of our casualties are pedestrians, against 13% across Great Britain as a whole.
“Everyone working in the field of road safety knows that it can be difficult coming up with new, punchy and exciting ideas for campaigns. This time, we decided to look around the UK and indeed the world to see what other places were using.
“We found a campaign we liked being used in the USA, made contact with the necessary departments, asked if we could use the resources and here with are with our great new campaign.”
The adverts were created in 2013 by Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ Street Smart campaign.
Michael J Farrell, transportation planner for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, said: “When a car collides with a pedestrian, the pedestrian never wins.
“These research-based adverts were created to capture attention and illustrate the weakness of the human body in comparison to vehicles on the road.”
Councillor Linnecor concluded: “Most places are feeling a squeeze in finances and this campaign shows that costs can be saved if departments, wherever they are in the world, work together.
“If someone has a good idea, let’s share it! There’s just no sense in reinventing the wheel if something good has been produced previously and is proven to be effective.”
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) is an independent, nonprofit association that brings area leaders together to address major regional issues in the District of Columbia, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. COG’s membership comprises 300 elected officials from 22 local governments, the Maryland and Virginia state legislatures, and US Congress.
Based on the last 5 years of data, pedestrians made up 16% of all road casualties in Cardiff. The Cardiff area is mostly urban with rural areas around it which have low populations and sparse road networks, much like the West Midlands. So, although we have the same issue of over representation it is not as severe, so they do have a case in my opinion.
Mark, Caerphilly
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Pedestrians are involved in a higher proportion of accidents in an urban area than across the county as a whole. Who’d have thought! How does that 18% compare with similar urban areas? Much the same perhaps?
Idris Francis Fight Back With Facts Petersfield
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