Maximising the road safety impact of advertising

All jurisdictions have a longstanding involvement in public education (mass advertising) as a road safety countermeasure, and are frequently called upon to increase their involvement in response to emerging road safety issues. The effectiveness of advertising as a road safety countermeasure remains problematic, however.\ud The purpose of this paper is to draw together the available evidence about the effectiveness of mass advertising, particularly in reducing crash rates. It also deals with the following sub-issues: road safety issues amenable to advertising effort; issues considered to be beyond the influence of advertising; characteristics of an effective advertising campaign; the additional support needed for effective advertising campaigns; the means to evaluate the impact of advertising