Assessment Of Road Safety Messages By The Ministry Of Transport And Infrastructure

Abstract

In Kenya, the transport industry is dominated by matatus. They are the main means of transport for people and luggage. With the large number of matatus on Kenyan roads, the risks of accidents have gone high. The recent years have witnessed thousands perish on the Kenyan roads, a trend that is worrying the stakeholders in the transport industry. This is why the road carnage discourse has hit headlines because of the threat it poses to the lives of many Kenyans. This study sought to investigate the effectiveness of road safety advocacy messages towards curbing the rising number of deaths courtesy of road accidents. The main objective of the study was to evaluate effectiveness of road safety advocacy messages in Nairobi County. In addition, it examined the challenges in the design of road safety advocacy messages, the challenges in the dissemination of road safety advocacy information to the public, and sought to find out information on road safety advocacy messaging opportunities for the newly formed National Safety and Transport Authority (NTSA). It made use of Agenda Setting Theory of Max McCombs, Donald Shaw and Social Marketing Theory to explain the relationship that exists between the design of road safety advocacy messages and their impact on the fight against road accidents. The primary data for this study was obtained using questionnaires and through personal interviews. This data was analysed using SPSS software and then presented on graphs and pie charts for easy interpretation.