New Road Safety Campaign in Cyprus

EVERY FEW weeks a new road safety campaign is launched. These campaigns have become so frequent and commonplace it is doubtful they are having the desired effect, as people usually tire of being bombarded by the same message over and over again. After a certain point, the public stops paying attention. In some isolated cases there is also the possibility that people would become so fed up of being urged to drive carefully that they might do the exact opposite.

It could be argued that in repeating the same message people will eventually be brainwashed into driving more carefully and gain greater road safety awareness. The question is: are the campaigns having any effect on the irresponsible drivers who make our roads unsafe – largely the young – or are they preaching to the converted?

The majority of drug users would laugh at campaigns warning about the dangers of drug use and continue indulging in their addictions. It is non-users who take anti-drug messages seriously and the same is probably true about road safety campaigns; adverts or none, reckless drivers will continue to take risks and ignore the speed limit.

The police have realised this, which is why they have quite rightly concentrated their efforts on stricter enforcement of the law and tougher sentences. The installation of traffic cameras, more speed checks, regular breathalysing of drivers and the imposition of heavy fines as well as penalty points have all contributed to improved road behaviour and fewer fatal accidents.

Heavy fines and penalty points (not to mention the overnight detention in a police cell for drunken drivers, which has regrettably been abandoned) have been much more effective in improving road safety than the campaigns.

This not to say that road safety campaigns are of no use, it’s just that more thought has to be given to them. First, the frequency should be drastically cut so that when one is launched people take notice. Second, each campaign should focus on a specific aspect of road safety, such as the need for children to wear seat-belts at all times, the dangers of speeding and overtaking, etc. Well thought-out campaigns could improve road behaviour in the long-term but for immediate results nothing beats the strict enforcement of the traffic laws and tough punishments.

And another thing…

SPEAKING of educating drivers, perhaps the authorities should also initiate a campaign for good parking practices. Most importantly, drivers need to understand that pavements are exclusively for pedestrians and not free parking lots; also that blocking the access of garage driveways to the street is a grossly inconsiderate.

Drivers also need to learn that when leaving their cars in big, unsupervised car parks, such as at a supermarket, the airport, a hotel or a cineplex, the whole car should be inside the white lines which are there for this reason. Parking on the white line, taking up two car spaces, as so many inconsiderate idiots seem to do, is unacceptable even though it does not carry a fine.