This document is the proceedings of a Seminar on Communication in the Field of Road Safety, held near Warsaw on 2 and 3 October 1997. The Seminar defined the main objective of communication, to spread information to influence behaviour, and the added value of new and more efficient communication strategies. The first working session, first considered the place of communication in road safety policy including the role and objectives of communication, transmitters and receivers, and tools and aids for communication. It then discussed new communication strategies, including: the added value of social marketing, strategies relating to the location of the transmitter, and strategies adapted to defined groups of receivers. The second working session addressed the constraints and difficulties to be considered while formulating communication strategies, and some limits of these strategies. The closing sessions summarised the results of the preceding discussions. Communication in road safety should be: (1) integrated with other measures; (2) avoided where other measures would have more chance of success; (3) accompanied by evaluations of its effectiveness; (4) continued long enough to allow it to achieve its desired effect; and (5) targeted at specific groups and using marketing methods.
Abstract