EDUCATION AND PUBLICITY: SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION

This paper reports progress on three projects in the UK, which are attempting to promote road safety by changing awareness and support among a range of agencies and the general public. For some time, the Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL) [as it then was] has been involved with the research and development of a Traffic Club for pre-school children. The club posts road safety education materials to parents, and its main aim is to reduce road casualties to pre-school children by helping parents to teach their own children. Some additional initiatives in this area are also described. Secondly, in 1983, the TRRL commissioned Reading University to review road safety education in schools throughout the UK. As a result of the review's findings, the TRRL trial demonstration of good practice in road safety education was established, aiming to develop, implement, and assess a code of practice for road safety education for children aged 5-16. The third project was the use of road safety publicity to campaign against drinking and driving, which sharply reduced fatalities to drivers. The success of the three projects depended on: (1) the identification of objectives and the evaluation of their achievement; (2) cooperation between people and agencies; and (3) continuous, progressive road safety promotion.