Share the road

How to run campaigns related to speed, driveway safety, giving way and cycle courtesy.

Give way (target - drivers)

Introduction

There are several situations where drivers should give way to pedestrians on the road, the main ones being: marked pedestrian crossings, turning traffic at traffic signals and school patrols. Many drivers are unaware that they are required to give way to pedestrians stepping onto a crossing on the opposite side of the road. Drivers are not always aware that the flashing red pedestrian light means pedestrians can continue their crossing if they have stepped into the road.

Drivers should be aware that some pedestrians may have problems crossing the road because they are young, old or have a disability. They also should be aware that pedestrians can make mistakes especially if they are children or have failing eyesight or hearing. Therefore, drivers should be ready to stop for pedestrians and allow them time to complete their crossing.

Community action

The following are some ideas for community action – you may come up with others. Many of these have been used both in New Zealand and overseas.

Groups of school students crossing the road carrying placards or signs.
Walking groups carrying or wearing messages.
Radio interviews with older pedestrians about their problems crossing the road.
School students developing and performing a rap, a song or a drama for their peers, parents or the community.
A performance by community members about pedestrian safety, developed and then performed in a public place.
Workshops or forums designed for older secondary school students to help them develop their own ideas for community action or events.
A competition for students to design a radio or television advertisement that would appeal to their peers, then produce and air the winning entry.

Community groups to involve in planning

Ideally you will work with the main problem groups. Use data or observations from your local area to determine the make-up of the target groups.

The following are some groups that could be involved.

Young drivers – national data shows, they are most likely to hit pedestrians.
Commercial drivers.
Parents – who do a lot of driving near schools.
Bus drivers.

The following are some groups affected by the actions of the target group that could be involved in planning.

Schools, school students, parents, teachers, and school communities.
Older driver groups such as Age Concern, Probus Clubs, Lions Clubs, Rotary, or Grey Power.
Walking groups.
Tertiary students may be able to contribute research or other information to the project.
People with disabilities often have specific issues to promote and are keen to be involved in planning.

Messages to communicate

The following actions might be asked of drivers.

When turning at the lights give way to pedestrians.
Allow pedestrians to complete their crossing when the red pedestrian light flashes.
Slow down and prepare to stop at pedestrian crossings.
Stop for school crossings.
If there is a raised traffic island, stop and give way to pedestrians on your half of the road. If there is no raised traffic island, give way to pedestrians on any part of the crossing.

Media to use

When choosing the groups to target, it will help to look at the situation in your area together with crash data.

Media to reach people under 30 years of age includes:

a scratch test with questions about drivers relating to pedestrians. Provide a prize for the winner. Distribute the cards in service stations or warrant of fitness stations
working with driving instructors to give messages to young drivers
cinema advertisements used when films that appeal to young people are being shown
advertising on the backs of buses or at bus stops in urban areas
billboards with messages either on established urban billboard sites or set up at locations chosen to target the issue. Resource consent is needed for new billboards and they can be costly
promotions involving websites or mobile phones may get the attention of young people
café cards are also popular with young people
radio – this is a good way to reach drivers, especially during rush hours. Stations that should be chosen reach a young demographic
local television channels – these offer cheap advertising rates, but make sure your target audience watches them
cards or key tags distributed at university orientation events.

The general population might be reached by some of the following:

Promotions in the newspaper, especially local community newspapers.
A local television channel if it is watched by the target group.
Radio during rush hours.
Leaflets or cards distributed to schools for students to take home, or information placed in school newsletters may be a way of reaching parents and the school community.
A card or leaflet delivered to residents in a letter-box drop or inserted with a community newspaper. The leaflet needs to be novel or eye catching.
Information cards or promotional products distributed by Police at check points.
Messages on products that might be used by the target group such as car rubbish bags, calendars, shopping lists and CD containers.

Emotional slant

The following are some ideas for engaging the emotions of the target group.

An image of a child being run over engages the emotion of shock.
Drawing outlines of pedestrians on the pavement at risky intersections or on pedestrian crossings engages emotions.
Humour can be used to defuse the potential anger that might arise between pedestrians and drivers.

Enforcement

Enforcement of driver behaviour at pedestrian crossings.
Enforcement of drivers turning at traffic signals giving way to pedestrians.
Enforcement of red light running or speeding through intersections is related.

Events

The following are some events where information on driving and pedestrians might be distributed.

School events.
Ethnic cultural events.
Safe with Age courses.

Related resources

(The following numbers relate to the numbers in the list of existing resources in the companion document.)

Turning traffic give way to pedestrians – Christchurch

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Last updated: 22 February 2007