Road Safety Campaign (Details)

Name of province/ territory:

Quebec

City/ Region:

Blainville

Description of Initiative:

The initiative is an annual campaign since 2006, focused on the realities of Blainville residents, that promotes the prevention and enforcement elements of the Highway Safety Code based on analyses conducted in support of campaigns by Quebec’s provincial automobile insurance agency (SAAQ).

Initiative Key Objectives:

2006: La vitesse laisse des traces [Speed leaves marks]
2007: La signalisation marque nos vies [Signalling marks our lives]
2008: Trop vite, trop tard [Too fast, too late]
2009: Perdre un être cher, la vie, etc., pour gagner du temps? Ralentissez ! [Losing (a loved one, your life, etc.) to save time? Slow down!]
2010: Les distractions compromettent votre sécurité! [Distractions jeopardize your safety!]
2011: Sur la route, on se conduit comme du monde ! [On the road, act like everyone else!]
2012: T’as voulu faire à ta tête? [You wanted to have it your way?]

Section Responsible for Implementation:

Community, patrol and traffic sections

Key Contact:

André Gagné
andre.gagne@ville.blainville.qc.ca

Groups/ Agencies/ Key Partners Involved:

  • community groups
  • private agencies/corporations
  • other government departments/agencies

Level of Involvement (consultative - information sharing) and/or cooperative - direct involvement):

Cooperative

Amount of Time Initiative has been in Place:

Since 2006.

Reason for Undertaking the Initiative:

This initiative was launched to increase Blainville residents’ sense of safety.

Resources Required to Implement this Initiative:

A budget envelope of approximately $25,000 is granted each year to develop the road safety campaign with a communications firm that works with the police service.

No additional costs are incurred given that this campaign is part of the daily objectives of all police personnel regarding road safety in the Blainville area.

Method of Implementation:

This campaign was implemented by the municipal government following elections in 2005, in cooperation with the police service.

Key Outcomes of the Initiative:

  • Increased sense of responsibility and awareness of road users concerning the consequences of irresponsible behaviour.
  • Significant drop in citizen complaints regarding road safety.
  • Significant drop in accident rates in the Blainville area since 2006 (difficult to say whether this was a direct result of the initiative).
  • With respect to accidents, Blainville is second in the province and has the lowest rates in relation to comparable cities.
  • This means fewer accidents to deal with, which leaves more time to develop other police activities.
  • We further observed a reversal of statistic trends regarding tickets issued to residents and non-residents. For example, in 2006, 57% of tickets issued were issued to Blainville residents, while 43% were issued to non-residents. In 2012, 42% of tickets were issued to residents, while 58% went to non-residents. This suggests that the annual road safety campaign has a decisive impact on the behaviour of Blainville residents behind the wheel.

Availability of a Communication Strategy:

Yes

Key Messages used to Publicize the Initiative:

2006: La vitesse laisse des traces [Speed leaves marks]
2007: La signalisation marque nos vies [Signalling marks our lives]
2008: Trop vite, trop tard [Too fast, too late]
2009: Perdre un être cher, la vie, etc., pour gagner du temps? Ralentissez ! [Losing (a loved one, your life, etc.) to save time? Slow down!]
2010: Les distractions compromettent votre sécurité! [Distractions jeopardize your safety!]
2011: Sur la route, on se conduit comme du monde ! [On the road, act like everyone else!]
2012: T’as voulu faire à ta tête? [You wanted to have it your way?]

Forms of Evaluation by which the Initiative will be Assessed:

  • formative
  • internal
  • external
  • quantitative
  • qualitative

Evaluation Completed or Community Feedback Received:

No

Summary of the Outcomes:

The 2006 campaign received an award of excellence from the Quebec association of transportation and roads (AQTR) and the Municipal Merit Award. The current campaign has a strong media presence (social, radio, TV) and we have received a number of positive comments.

Summary of the Performance Measure Data Collected:

N/A

Economics of Policing Pillars:

Further Details:

The initiative details include:

  • a decrease in the number of accidents in the Blainville area;
  • awareness and prevention among road users, with a number of audiences targeted;
  • a powerful visual media campaign; and
  • many routes used to get the message across, including various communications activities (posters, video, web, etc).

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

Local campaign conducted annually.

Record Entry Date:

2013-08-01

Date modified: