This paper examines the effectiveness of road safety advertising campaigns using international studies and sophisticated evaluations of large advertising campaigns conducted in Australia. This paper examines which road safety issues are amenable to advertising effort, characteristics of effective campaigns, and additional support needed. The types of road safety issues amenable to advertising effort are likely to depend on what the advertising is attempting to do: increase knowledge, change attitudes or change behaviour. For most road safety issues, well-designed and implemented advertising should be successful in increasing awareness or knowledge of that issue in a relatively short period of time, but this depends on how firmly held current attitudes are. The ability to practice road safety behaviours promoted by advertising must also be considered within the wider socio-political context of the community. (a).
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