§ 32. Mr. Andrew Hunterasked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his assessment of the effect of advertising campaigns recently and currently promoted by his Department.
§ Mrs. ChalkerAll the Department's major promotional campaigns are carefully evaluated in terms of their basic impact on the public and as reflected in road casualties at the appropriate time.
At present, we are awaiting the results of campaigns on motorcycle and pedal cycle safety. We have yet to complete our child pedestrian safety campaign and subsequently to monitor the outcome.
On the recent drinking and driving campaign: as I said in reply to Members on 16 January, the final figures are not yet available so that firm conclusions cannot be drawn. However, preliminary reports from a number of police forces suggest that the campaign has produced greater public awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving. This has been reflected in the relatively small number of drivers found to be over the legal limit and, in some cases, in a reduction in casualties. [Vol. 52, c. 9–10.]