In Autumn 2021 Drive Surrey RoadSafe launched a campaign to provide education and engagement on the importance of pedestrian safety across the county.
Data highlighted that, in Surrey, pedestrian casualties make up to 9% of all casualties in the county. Although these numbers are lower than those seen in other areas on the country, Surrey RoadSafe believe that pedestrians in Surrey required a dedicated campaign, engaging with the most affected age groups and those travelling at “peak” times, to remind them of the safety precautions that can keep themselves and others safer on the road, particularly during the darker evenings.
This campaign focused on engagement with pedestrians – raising awareness of their vulnerabilities and ways in which to keep safe on the roads – and drivers, to educate them on their role in keeping these road users safe, in particular around school-zones and residential areas.
This dedicated campaign ran from Monday 1st November to Sunday 19th December, with the desired outcomes being:
- Drivers are more considerate to the dangers posed to pedestrians by unsafe driving practices and are encouraged to improve their driving habits to help this cause in keeping these vulnerable road users safe.
- For pedestrians in Surrey to feel safer using the roads, especially around school-zones and residential areas with the help of reflective devices/clothing, using designated crossings, removing distractions etc. and for this to then be reflected in the data from this Autumn/Winter period.
10–14‐year‐olds were the highest age band between 2018‐20 to be represented in the data. School age pedestrians travelling to and from school is clearly a risk and the overwhelming majority for vehicle type interacting with the pedestrian casualties (79%) is cars. Therefore, tactics deployed throughout this campaign will aim to target drivers, schools, children and parents/guardians with cohesive key-messages and themes represented through radio airtime, bus advertisements and social media posts.
Please also keep an eye out for our posts on our socials, Facebook: @SurreyRoadSafe and X: @SurreyRS, and please share with your colleagues, peers, family and friends.