An evaluation of the effectiveness of televised road safety messages in Ghana

Abstract

The goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of recent televised advertisements conducted by the National Road Safety Commission in Ghana. These concerned speeding and alcohol-impaired driving and were targeted towards commercial drivers. Focus group discussions were conducted with 50 commercial drivers in four cities. Discussions addressed coverage, clarity and appropriateness of messages, including suggestions for improvements. Most discussants indicated that the messages were clear and appropriate. Television reached all participants in this urban group. However, they felt that other modes of communication, such as flyers and radio, should also be used to reach drivers who did not own televisions. A particular problem was language. The advertisements had been in English and Akan (the most common vernacular language). Participants wanted the messages diversified into more of the major Ghanaian languages. Some participants were unclear on the behaviour that the advertisements were telling viewers to take. Participants advocated greater involvement by police in road safety and called for laws banning the sale of alcohol at bus stations. The advertisements reached and were understood by most of the target audience. Opportunities for strengthening the messages included using other media; increasing the number of languages; and stressing the change in behaviour being recommended. Overall road safety activities would be strengthened by increasing accompanying law enforcement activities related to speed and alcohol-impaired driving. To the authors' knowledge this is the first formal evaluation of a road safety social marketing programme in a low-income sub-Saharan African country. This evaluation will hopefully assist Ghana and other similar countries in strengthening road safety work.

Road traffic safety in African countries – status, trend, contributing factors, countermeasures and challenges

“…For example, the government in Ghana has launched an information campaign using TV programmes (Blantari, Asiamah, Appiah, & Mock, 2005) to educate professional drivers and promote road traffic safety. A survey was conducted to gauge the effect of the program by measuring the perceptions of professional drivers in terms of reach and penetration.…”

Comunicação Persuasiva como Forma de Reduzir Acidentes de Trânsito: Revisão Sistemática da Literatura

“…Desta forma, os resultados apoiam o uso de diferentes táticas nas mensagens conforme sua familiaridade ao grupo-alvo (PELSMACKER et al, 2011). Blantari et al (2005), avaliaram a eficácia das propagandas veiculadas em televisão realizadas pela Comissão Nacional de Segurança Rodoviária, em Gana. O estudo foi conduzido através de discussões em grupo com 50 pessoas que atuam como motoristas comerciais em quatro cidades.…”

“…A maioria dos debatedores indicaram que as mensagens eram claras e adequadas, pois a televisão alcança todos os participantes deste grupo urbano. No entanto eles sentiram que outros meios de comunicação, tais como folhetos e rádio, também deveriam ser usados para alcançar os motoristas que não possuíam televisores (BLANTARI et al, 2005).…”

“…Também acreditam que atividades globais de segurança rodoviária devam ser reforçadas, aumentando a aplicação das leis relacionadas a velocidade e a dirigir alcoolizados. De acordo com os autores este é o primeiro estudo formal de um programa de marketing social sobre a segurança rodoviária em um país Africano de baixa renda (BLANTARI et al, 2005).…”

Young people's perceptions of traffic injury risks, prevention and enforcement measures: A qualitative study

“…Of the various qualitative techniques, focus groups have an open nature which allows unknown personal and group opinions to emerge. Focus groups have been successfully used in traffic injuries studies (Agran et al, 2004;Simpson et al, 2003;Butchart et al, 2000;Zhang et al, 2006;Blantari et al, 2005).…”