This report is an interim evaluation of the additional enforcement and mass publicity undertaken as part of the year-long Dorset Road Safe Partnership project “no excuse”. Launched in mid January 2010, its goal was to contribute to improving Dorset County Council’s road casualty reduction performance, which was lagging behind that of other shire local highway authorities. Trough public consultation in 2009 it was clear that a significant proportion of residents felt that the existing level of traffic enforcement in Dorset was too low. Surveys also suggested that driver behaviour may be influenced by the presence or likely presence of police traffic patrols. The “no excuse” project set out to try to influence certain driving behaviours that are known to contribute to serious and fatal injury collisions, including inappropriate or illegal speeding, being distracted whilst driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and not wearing a seatbelt. It aimed to do this by delivering an increased overt and covert police presence on Dorset’s roads and heavily publicising this activity and its outcomes on a regular basis. The publicity focused on giving the media details of the number and type of offences detected in each area together with examples of the excuses given by motorists after they had been stopped by the police in the form of short “snippets”. Wider public engagement was achieved through the delivery of additional one day mass enforcement and publicity events in selected towns. The additional daily enforcement and supporting mass publicity was sustained throughout 2010. In terms of reaching its overarching goal, Dorset County Council’s provisional road casualty figures for 2010 show an 18% reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured (KSI) compared to the previous year. In a single year, this represents more than half the 35% reduction in KSI’s achieved in the previous ten year period, based on the annual average for the period 1994-1998. Whilst this is a significant achievement, it is acknowledged that this cannot be solely attributable to the “no excuse” project. Other extraneous factors must be taken into account including the effects of the economic downturn on driving habits, higher fuel prices, the government’s car scrappage scheme, the severe winter weather experienced at the start and end of 2010 and the influence of other local and national road safety campaigns.The evaluation suggests the project’s key strength has been the excellent partnership working arrangements that have enabled each partner to lead on the most appropriate interventions using their skills and experience but also lend support to others in theirs. Having well-defined roles and working to strengths has made project delivery very efficient. The exceptionally high brand recognition figures and the public’s apparently good understanding of the road safety behaviours being targeted through “no excuse” have been very encouraging and suggest the communications strategy has worked well so far. It is less easy to argue the project’s effectiveness in influencing driver behaviour. Although the interim results suggest a marked reduction in the number of offences being detected by the “no excuse” enforcement team, further work needs to be undertaken to ensure any comparison in monthly data is robust. Further evaluation using focus group discussions and one to one in-depth interviews needs to be carried out if we are to evidence a link between a perceived increased risk of being caught and actual changed attitude and behaviour. It is not clear yet whether the public in Dorset believe there is significantly more traffic enforcement on Dorset’s roads or whether they believe the likelihood of being caught is greater. Even less clear is whether their driving behaviour could be influenced by this increased awareness. It is, however, considered that “no excuse” has played an important role in raising awareness that road safety is every road user’s responsibility and that simply giving an “excuse” for committing a driving offence does not make it acceptable. (Author/publisher)
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