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THE SPEEDING DRIVER: WHO, HOW AND WHY?
CHAPTER FOUR REVIEW OF CAMPAIGNS AND INITIATIVES
METHODOLOGY
4.1 A review was undertaken of anti-speeding campaigns and slower speeds initiatives conducted in Scotland in the last five years.
4.2 Four discrete questionnaires were designed, three to cover the road safety publicity, engineering and enforcement activities taking place across all local authority and police force areas in Scotland and a further questionnaire on the anti-speeding publicity initiated by the Scottish Road Safety Campaign was produced.
4.3 Sixteen questionnaires were issued to Road Safety Units within local authorities using the address list of members of the Scottish Road Safety Campaign Forum. These Road Safety Units were asked about road safety publicity campaigns, road safety engineering campaigns (e.g., Twenty's Plenty) and slower speed initiatives (e.g., as part of Safer Routes to School projects) with which they had been involved.
4.4 Seven questionnaires were issued to Road Safety Units within police forces, again using the Scottish Road Safety Campaign address list. These Road Safety Units were asked about road safety publicity campaigns and road safety enforcement programmes/campaigns e.g., SpeedWatch) with which they had been involved.
4.5 The sixteen local authorities with no Road Safety Unit completed a questionnaire giving details of anti-speeding engineering measures that they had used.
4.6 Strathclyde Police, which shares its responsibility for road safety with its 12 constituent local authorities, was asked to provide details on anti-speeding publicity and/or enforcement programmes/campaigns carried out under its direction.
4.7 Of the 40 questionnaires issued to local authorities and police forces, 25 (63%) were completed and returned. The Scottish Road Safety Campaign completed and returned its questionnaire. The respondents were as follows:
Road Safety Units within Local Authorities
- Argyll & Bute Council
- East Ayrshire Council
- East Dunbartonshire Council
- East Renfrewshire Council
- Glasgow City Council
- Highland Council
- North Ayrshire Council
- North Lanarkshire Council
- Renfrewshire Council
- South Ayrshire Council
- South Lanarkshire Council
- West Dunbartonshire Council
Road Safety Units within Police Forces
- Central Scotland Police
- Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary
- Fife Police
- Northern Police
- Tayside Police
Local Authorities with no Road Safety Unit
- Aberdeen City Council
- Aberdeenshire Council
- Angus Council
- City of Edinburgh Council
- East Lothian Council
- Midlothian Council
- Perth & Kinross Council
Police Force: Responsibility for road safety shared with local authorities
Scottish Road Safety Campaign
CONSULTATION FINDINGS - ROAD SAFETY UNITS WITHIN LOCAL AUTHORITIES
4.8 Returns were received from 75% of Road Safety Units within local authorities. 92% of those who replied considered that speeding (both in the breaking of speed limits and the use of inappropriate speed) was a major factor in road traffic accidents in their areas.
4.9 Figure 4.1 shows the age groups of drivers who these respondents thought should be targeted with the anti-speeding message. 8% thought that the target should be restricted to drivers aged between 17 and 25 years. 25% thought that it should be restricted to drivers aged between 17 and 45 years, and 17% that it should be restricted to drivers aged between 17 and 60 years. 50% thought that the anti-speeding message should target drivers of all ages.
Figure 4.1: Targeting publicity by age group for RSUs in LAs
4.10 On the question of targeting the anti-speeding message on the basis of gender, as shown in Figure 4.2, 25% of Road Safety Units within local authorities thought that it should be restricted to male drivers, while 75% thought that it should cover both. There was no call from any Council to target women drivers specifically.
Figure 4.2: Targeting publicity by gender for RSUs in LAs
4.11 All Road Safety Units within local authorities are supporting and promoting the Scottish Road Safety Campaign's Foolsspeed initiative. When asked about the type of publicity campaigns that would be most effective in this area, many Road Safety Units within local authorities referred to the Foolsspeed campaign.
4.12 More than 60% of Road Safety Units within local authorities mentioned the use of mass media advertising in successful anti-speeding publicity campaigns. Almost half indicated that there is a need for well-researched, hard-hitting advertising that concentrates on the attitudes to, and consequences of, speeding behaviour.
4.13 On using mass media, Figure 4.3 shows that television advertising is the favoured medium for delivering the anti-speeding message.
Figure 4.3: Using the media for RSUs in Las
4.14 As shown in Figure 4.4, 79% of anti-speeding publicity (included in the inventories of campaigns launched/supported by Road Safety units within local authorities) were in support of Scotland and UK-wide campaigns. Only four Road Safety Units within local authorities had launched locally produced campaigns.
Figure 4.4: Anti-speeding campaigns by origin for RSUs in LAs
4.15 Foolsspeed, Speedwatch and various DLTR campaigns were promoted through the distribution of campaign support material supplied by the organisers, and the production of local press releases.
4.16 Road Safety Units within local authorities gave details of 25 campaigns with which they had been involved. Figure 4.5 gives details on the cost of each campaign.
Figure 4.5: Cost of campaigns for RSUs in LAs
4.17 This suggests that Road Safety Units within local authorities take the view that anti-speeding campaigns, with the need for mass media outlets (e.g. expensive television and cinema advertising), are best organised at a national, rather than local, level.
CONSULTATION FINDINGS - ROAD SAFETY UNITS WITHIN POLICE FORCES
4.18 There were returns from 71% of Road Safety Units within police forces. All of those who replied considered that speeding was a major factor in road traffic accidents within their areas.
4.19 All Road Safety Units within police forces thought that the anti-speeding message should target drivers of all ages and both genders.
4.20 As to the type of campaigns likely to be successful in this area, 60% of Road Safety Units within police forces mentioned the use of mass media advertising and 20% favoured hard-hitting campaigns. Figure 4.6 shows that television advertising, again, is favoured as the most effective mass media outlet for the anti-speeding message.
Figure 4.6: Using the media for RSUs in Police Forces
4.21 All 10 campaigns included in the inventory of campaigns launched or supported by Road Safety Units within police forces were in support of Scotland-wide campaigns. Each campaign involved expenditure of less than 1,000.
4.22 This, again, supports the view that anti-speeding campaigns are best organised at a national, rather than local, level.
4.23 All police forces, including Strathclyde Police, are supporting and promoting the Scottish Road Safety Campaign's Foolsspeed initiative, and all have been involved in the ACPOS Speedwatch campaigns.
4.24 All police forces are involved in anti-speeding enforcement when road traffic accident data suggests that a decrease in casualties could be achieved.
CONSULTATION FINDINGS - ROAD SAFETY ENGINEERING MEASURES
4.25 There were returns from 12 of the 16 local authorities with Road Safety Units, and 7 of the 16 local authorities with no Road Safety Units. This gives details on road safety measures to tackle speeding drivers for almost 60% of local authorities across Scotland.
4.26 All of the local authorities with Road Safety Units were promoting and supporting the Scottish Road Safety Campaign's Foolsspeed initiative. In local authorities with no Road Safety Unit, 86% were also promoting and supporting Foolsspeed.
4.27 84% of the local authorities are involved in Safer Routes to School (SRTS) projects. Over the past five years, 215 such projects have been completed. The estimated cost of this work was 2,044,000.
4.28 As shown in Figure 4.7, 45% of the completed SRTS projects included work on speed reduction. The estimated cost of this work was 1,655,500.
Figure 4.7: Safer Routes to School Projects
4.29 Apart from Safer Routes to School projects, the local authorities gave details of 96 other schemes and initiatives completed during the last five years. These were aimed at encouraging speed reduction (at both urban and rural locations across Scotland) and included an increase in the provision of speed cameras. The estimated cost of this work was 5,966,500.
4.30 Figure 4.8 indicates a total expenditure of more than 7.5 million on speed reduction measures during the last five years within the 19 local authorities that supplied data. (Total expenditure across the whole of Scotland will thus be higher.)
Figure 4.8: Speed reduction expenditure
4.31 Figure 4.9 shows some of the common speed reducing measures used by local authorities. 89% of local authorities had used speed humps, cushions and/or tables, and 58% road narrowing through gateways, build-outs etc.
Figure 4.9: Speed reducing measures
4.32 89% of the local authorities had participated in the Twenty's Plenty trial and 68% intend to extend or introduce the scheme within their local area in the near future. Of the two local authorities not involved in the trials, one intends to implement the scheme. Of the 17 local authorities that had taken part in the trials, five had decided not to continue with them.
CONSULTATION FINDINGS - SCOTTISH ROAD SAFETY CAMPAIGN
4.33 The Scottish Road Safety Campaign (SRSC) gave full details of the Foolsspeed initiative, which was launched in 1998 and continues to date. The Foolsspeed campaign targets males aged 25 to 40 years.
4.34 The television campaign was launched with six different 10-second advertisements designed to establish the Foolsspeed campaign logo and concept. This advertising ran for nine weeks during 1998 and 1999.
4.35 This was followed by the 40-second 'Mirror' advertisement that was televised for eight weeks during 1999 and 2000.
4.36 The 40-second television advertisement, 'Friends and Family', followed. This was broadcast for eight weeks during 2000 and 2001.
4.37 The most recent Foolsspeed television advertisement, 'Simon Says', was screened for 12 weeks during 2001 and 2002.
4.38 Other Foolsspeed campaign activities have included bus-back and petrol-pump advertising. In both cases, the simple message 'Only Foolsspeed' was used. The bus-back advertising was carried: on 550 buses during the month of August 1999, on 560 buses during the month of July 2000 and on 600 buses during the month of July 2001. The petrol-pump advertising appeared on petrol nozzles at 216 petrol stations during the month of June 1999, at 127 petrol stations during the month of August 2000 and at 298 petrol stations during the month of October 2001.
4.39 To date, the SRSC has spent 2,103,000 on the Foolsspeed campaign.
4.40 The SRSC supports the Speedwatch campaigns organised by ACPOS. In 1997 this included a three-week radio and bus-back advertising campaign focussed on speed in urban areas, and targeted at males of all ages and at all drivers. In 1998 the campaign, with the same focus and target, involved radio and poster advertising. Since 1998, all Speedwatch campaigns have been supported with Foolsspeed publicity.
CONCLUSIONS
- Road Safety Units are concerned about speeding, and agree that speeding drivers need to be targeted by publicity campaigns.
- Road Safety Units agree that anti-speeding publicity campaigns should be well planned and resourced e.g., the Foolsspeed campaign.
- Road Safety Units are willing to promote and support such national campaigns within their local areas.
- Road Safety Units would welcome anti-speeding campaigns that target drivers (especially male drivers) under 25 and over 40 years of age.
- Scottish police forces indicate a willingness to dedicate time and resources to anti-speeding enforcement with the potential to reduce road accident casualties.
- Scottish local authorities are concerned about speeding at the community level, and agree that there is a need to devote resources to anti-speeding measures.
- In line with the policy of the Scottish Executive, local authorities in Scotland have supported Safer Routes to School initiatives.
- The Scottish Road Safety Campaign is commended for its Foolsspeed initiative where evaluation results show some success in re-aligning the attitudes of speeding drivers.
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