The largest Safety Camera education campaign ever
21 Sep 2004

For the first time ever eight camera partnerships have revealed all fixed and mobile speed camera sites on an interactive map covering the entire East and West Midlands region. This is a new coordinated approach to improving communications with Britain's drivers.

The first stage of the campaign saw The Midlands Safety Camera Partnerships launching an interactive Safety Camera CD-ROM at the Motor Show in May 2004. The CD is free to drivers, business owners and fleet managers and aims to improve safety throughout the region.

The CD will also contain the speed limits at camera sites, general road safety advice, best practice videos for businesses and camera FAQs.

Midlands Safety Camera Partnership spokesman Adam Warwick says,

"It's time for us to focus on education. We want to make the public aware of what we are doing. We have always ensured that detailed information is available to the public, however the scheme has been perceived by some as secretive for far too long. This is just the start of an exciting campaign that will assist the motorists of Britain."

The next phase of the campaign began in August with the commencement of the single biggest research project into driver attitudes and behaviour ever conducted by Safety Camera Partnerships. The research comprises 20 Focus Groups, 20 depth interviews and more than 2700 face-to-face questionnaires, and looks to find out the reasons behind certain driving behaviour and how Road Safety Organizations might seek to solve the problem.

The final phase of the project includes a coordinated series of educational campaigns, aimed at pre-drivers, key casualty groups and business drivers. As part of this phase the Midlands Safety Camera group are in the process of developing an interactive CD-Rom specifically aimed at four age groups; 5-7yr olds, 8-11yr olds, 12-15yr olds and 16-18yr olds.

The CDs cover all aspects of road safety, including speed awareness / perception, seatbelt wearing, drink-driving, green-cross-code, use of mobile phones in the car and on the street, bicycle proficiency, plus a whole host of interactive features.

"We want people to know that we are spending a lot of time, effort and resources into improving road safety for everyone. Where many people think we concentrate solely on the installation and enforcement of cameras, this major campaign should illustrate our commitment to educating all road users as to the potential hazards we all face on the road everyday."