A history of the road safety campaign

The road death tragedy

By 1995, nearly 600 people were being killed each year on New Zealand roads. These deaths resulted mainly from people drink-driving, speeding and not wearing safety belts. Simple driving errors such as not giving way, not stopping and not keeping to the left also contributed to the toll.

International comparisons of road deaths per 10,000 vehicles ranked New Zealand's driving record 14th of 24 OECD countries.

In 1995, the total cost of road crashes to New Zealand society was estimated at $3.6 billion. This figure was reached by measuring the cost of all damages resulting from road crashes.

Approach

For over 10 years the road safety campaign has used vivid realistic road safety advertisements aimed at offenders. They have mostly shown offences being committed and the consequences for the offender.

The campaign emulated the highly successful strategy employed since 1989 in Victoria, Australia, in which realistic, emotionally powerful advertising, linked with increased strategic enforcement saw the Victoria road toll halved in the first five years of the campaign. A blueprint based upon the Victorian experience was developed specifying the style, media mix and weight for the advertising component of the programme.

The campaign has been one of the most effective seen in New Zealand. As a result public awareness has been raised, driver behaviour has improved and an independent evaluation shows it has helped save more than 300 lives since it began in 1995.

Last updated: 3 July 2008