An eye-catching tramway safety campaign aimed at reducing the risk of collisions involving pedestrians is cutting through with the public across the UK.
Up to 70 per cent of people who had spotted bold graphics conveying the message ‘Two Lines = STOP’ had changed their behaviour when close to a tramway or when crossing the tracks, a new survey has found.
The study questioned hundreds of people in areas where trams run close to pedestrians and provided essential feedback on the effectiveness of the national pedestrian safety campaign led by the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board.
Carly Swift, Marketing and Communications Manager at the LRSSB, explained: “The initiative has been embraced by all the UK’s second-generation light rail systems, and this study shows it is having a real impact on tackling the leading risk to tramway safety.
“The campaign has proved particularly successful in Edinburgh and Nottingham, but it is also delivering positive results in other cities, including Blackpool, Sheffield and the West Midlands.
“Overall, feedback on the campaign has been extremely encouraging, with nearly three quarters of those interviewed saying it delivers a clear and consistent message, with the core instruction to stop and look for trams before crossing landing strongly.”
The findings of the research were welcomed at a recent meeting of senior light rail safety leaders who also heard plans for the next phase of the LRSSB campaign.
Don McClurg, Head of Safety and Standards at Edinburgh Tram and Chair of the LRSSB’s Heads of Safety Group, commented: “These results show that the campaign is making a real difference to tramway safety.
They also illustrate the real-world benefits of taking a data-led approach to identifying threats to tramway safety and finding the most appropriate solutions.”