§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Transport whether he will give for the longest and most convenient period of time the amounts of money spent on advertising in the media by his Department, together with the purpose or objectives of such advertisements; and to what extent such objectives have been achieved.
§ Mr. William RodgersAdvertising for the financial year 1977–78 totalled £3,700,000, the greater part of which was expended on four major campaigns, as follows:
Seat Belts
£841,000 with the objective of encouraging their voluntary use by persuasive and factual advertising in the absence of legislation for compulsory wearing.Pedestrian Safety
£1,058,000 with the objective of reducing casualties, particularly among young children by encouraging children and their parents to learn and practice the Green Cross code as an aid to safer use of the roads.Motorcycle Safety
173W£668,000 with the twin objectives of urging motorists to greater care and increased perception relative to motorcyclists, and encouraging motorcyclists to take training courses to improve their ability.Drink and Drive
£908,000: the objective, as recommended in the Blennerhassett report, was to bring home to drivers the dangers of mixing drinking and driving, the impairment in driving which could result and the penalties for exceeding the prescribed blood/alcohol levels.All road safety campaigns have the prime objective of reducing accidents and casualties.It is not always possible to relate directly and immediately the effects of advertising to the specific objectives as there are often additional influencing factors, such as varying traffic flows, differing weather conditions, unpaid publicity and editorial comment, local authorities' and road safety officers' activities, and so on. The majority of road safety advertising, by the nature of the subject, is long-term and cumulative in its effects.
Pre- and post-campaign research on major campaigns has, however, indicated significant, favourable changes in attitudes and knowledge of the advertised subject. Welcome decreases in child casualties have been recorded since the introduction of campaigns featuring the Green Cross code. On seat belts, significant increases have been observed in wearing levels directly related to the advertising campaign period. It is too early yet to assess the effects of the drink and drive and motorcycle safety campaigns.
The annual advertising cost must be viewed against the national cost of accidents and casualties, which currently represents more than £1,000 million in lost resources to the country. In 1950, some 5,000 people were killed on our roads; 25 years later, the figure was just under 6,400—despite the fact that traffic had increased three-and-a-half times in volume. International comparisons show Britain in a favourable light. I feel sure that advertising has played a valuable part in reducing casualties and accidents and will continue to do so.