The Road Safety GB website and the Road Safety Knowledge Centre have received very significant uplifts in traffic volumes since both were revamped late last year.
The Road Safety Knowledge Centre is an online library of road safety research, reports, campaigns and other information and resources. It was set up in 2010 with funding provided by the DfT, and is managed by Road Safety GB.
The main elements of the Knowledge Centre revamp are giving open access for all (previously it was free but you had to subscribe) and a responsive design which makes it easily accessible from smartphones and other mobile devices.
As a result of the revamp, which went live in December 2014, the number of visits to the site in January 2015 (2,400) was the highest for three years. And the number of visitors (1,686) was the highest ever, beating the previous high of 1,279 in August 2012. This represents an increase of 31% over the previous record.
The Road Safety GB website also enjoyed record traffic levels in January 2015. The site received 28,049 visits, a 7% increase over the previous high of 26,259 in November 2014.
At 20,232 (+9%), the number of visitors was also a new record, beating the previous high of 18,578, again in November 2014.
These figures represent an increase of 42% and 22% respectively for visitors and visits to the website compared with January 2014.
The website has experienced record traffic levels in three of the four months since it was revamped in October 2014. The only month when a new record was not set was December 2014 when many people are on holiday during the festive period.
Nick Rawlings, editor of Road Safety News and Knowledge Centre project manager, said: “We’re delighted that the Road Safety GB website continues to prove popular with readers both from within and outside the road safety profession.
“But we are particularly pleased at the increase in usage of the Knowledge Centre, which had been tailing off for some while. A survey among users suggested the downturn was due to a combination of the hassle of having to log in, and the fact the site did not view properly on anything except a computer.
“The early signs indicate that the changes we’ve made have created a much more user friendly resource.”
As welcome and as encouraging as this “news” is, it does not seem worthy of an extended stay on the front page (while other road safety matters get relegated to the small print or archive).
It feels too much like the BBC announcing in a news item that, say, Huw Edwards has won a newsreader of the year award – self congratulatory and self promoting, especially the closing quote from the Editor. Items in December on website traffic and Twitter followers had a similar flavour. This website works best when sharing road safety issues.
Eric Bridgstock, Independent Road Safety Researcher, St Albans
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Congrats. Well done. It’s growing stronger and stronger. Let’s have some new blood entering into the debates. It’s obviously a medium that is viewed by a lot of people and can help, in itself, in educating and at some times perhaps altering points of view and presenting new ideas, opinions, conceptions etc.
Bob craven Lancs Space is safe Campaigner
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