Spotted this interesting thing today. KRDCL is looking to hire a Creative Agency as consultant for spreading road safety awareness and improving road user behaviour in Bangalore. How much money is budgeted for this is not clear. Since KRDCL is putting this out, and not Traffic Police or BBMP, I am guessing this is part of the BTRAC-2010 (KRDCL is the nodal agency for it).
Here is the goal as listed in the document (click here to read) from KRDCL:
The goal of the creative agency is to reduce risk of traffic accidents and improve road user behaviour through release of advertisements in various newspapers in an attractive and and easily understandable format. this art work should be converted into hoardings, slides, collapsible roll-up stands, posters and pamphlets for display in TV, Public Places, Cinema Halls School-Colleges and Malls etc.
Interesting. Objectives have been detailed even further.
Motivate behavioural change in general population and specific target groups including the High Risk Behaviour groups ... promote voluntary code of safe driving.
Well well well. Good thing this campaign could be, but targeting the "High Risk Behaviour" group, that may be a bit ambitious. First of all, I wish KRDCL or Traffic police to state if they have clearly identified and defined this "High Risk" Group. Is it the teens (usually the case in the West)? Or the yellow plate club (I mean the cab drivers)? Or is it simply the gang that got its driving license without even attending the tests? Since I see 'School-Colleges and Malls' mentioned in here, perhaps their definition is "teens with money".
We will get this clarity once this "creative work" starts showing up. For example - If its all English, we would know its not the cab drivers, or vice versa. It could alos be that they will have multple parallel campaigns for each 'target group'.
I know most Praja members will say this is just money being wasted. But I think not, provided they try the following as well.
- Concentrate on one message at a time. For 2 months altogether, I will run a campaign to say "don't overtake from left". Then 2 months on "lane discipline", and so on. General messages covering all aspects of safe driving would just be lost in the crowd as preachings from the elders do. Fur the duration each message runs, I will have token enforcement drive as well to match the message
- Their should be a parallel drive to spruce up road side signs as well. Ex1: How would I know I am over-speeding unless there are signs indicating the same at every other marker? Ex2: I would also need constant reminders about lane via lane markings
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creativity alone not enough....
Its a good start but it has to be backed up with a lot more effort.
An appealing Ad or poster may catch someones attention, but only for a few seconds, then we will all go back to eating our dinner!.
We've also become immune to a certain degree with Social Messages and often react like "why me? I never do all that stuff!"
IMHO this is only the first step, maybe only the first half of the step or maybe only a start.
But, as a bundle of sticks is harder to break than one, it would work effectively if at the same time they also introduced the following
if we pull out any one of the ideas and then invest a lot of time and money on it, to me it sounds like effort in vain!
User Interaction Designer
Bangalore
hum do hamare do
Awesome - Ad TS
Narayan, TS - you are right. Ads and small clips on tv or movie halls will only be another ad or commercial which is ignored after seeing. May be a handful will remember it always. First of all I would suggest some things from Law enforcement.
All New Licences are issued only based on strict test (Written) and after a months driving always accompanied by a seasoned driver with licence Take the strict driving test and issue licence.
All licence renewals have to take written test atleast (Strict again) to ensure they know what they are getting into?
Like Narayan put it. Strict Law enforcement and penalties on anyone who does not follow discipline.
Of course use the creative ads like the one TS Created (awesome TS - you should actually market it to BBMP - I am serious) and educate people.
Why ads alone will not work? When Krishna's (CM Krishna) govt tried to educate people with a pilot project on Brigade not to throw trash on ped ways and road sides no one cared. Then they pitched in police dressed in civilian clothing to add fine - Its my experience where I have seen many weathy women and men have preferred topay fine vs taking the trash and placing it inthe appropriate bin.. what a joke of the system. Even kids were brought in to educate olderones to keep it clean - did not work. (Sometimes I feel are we so immuned to follow any system?)
Also tie in your licence to Vehicle Insurance and every certain points obtained on the licence because of traffice violations (like they do in the US) will increase your insurance. That will take care of the fear factor. To be very frank even here in the US people tend to do what they want (Not comparable with our own cities though) but had there been no strict law enforcement then it would have been as worse as it is elsewhere.
These are my thoughts and I am sure things will shape up if we do make an attempt.
Certify and enforce
Why dont KRDCL or another authority set up a driver certification institute and make all driving institutes illegal unless they are authorized by this authority. Driving schools will have to employ instructors certified by this authority. RTO's will accept applications only from people thru these certified driving schools and private.
OR
make the driving test so comprehensive that you will have to REALLY know and demonstrate the rules before you can get behind the wheel regardless of where you took your training. In this case train the certifier(RTO inspector) in the rules and certify him fit to certify others. Outsource the certifer if its too much of a hassle to change RTO culture to a private authority and audit him
I dont like the Ads, they are money down the drain without enforcement. THere is one near BRV which says 'stay in your lane so traffic can move smoothly'. RIght under that is the most violations. Who cares for these ads and how are we making sure there is ROI for these ads?
Speaking of ads...
-Shastri
Moonbear Ad
Shastri - Absolutely right :) - I missed it too LOL - makes complete sense how ads can work in our own traffice context.
Ads not the right idea
Sometime back, there was a drive by BTP and some schools to spread traffic awareness. Children from these schools held placards at important junctions in Bangalore, trying to fill wisdom into the minds of Bangaloreans. It was a touching sight to see these kids sweating out in the sun. But on the ground nothing changed. Recall rates for such ads are almost zero.
Instead KRDCL should be investing more in BTRAC. Set up more cameras. Get that database system which maps the vehicle numbers and license number up and running. Spur up that blackberry project to catch repeat offenders. Rigorous enforcement of laws is the only way out.
Bid on KRDCL RFP
Shall we bid for this?
The tender says the organization should have expertise with large size projects etc etc. But want to ask all if there is anyway we can bid for this project? We will of course do it not-for-profit, use the money earned back on Praja.
Can some members from creative backgrounds join hands and think about it. We can bid as Praja, or members can push their agencies to bid for it.
enforcement first
These are like providing signages reading 'road hump ahead' on totally pot-holed roads. All these and many more can be done. But, first, the basics have to be set right - enforcement, atleast some semblence of it.
Muralidhar Rao