6 Years of Online Road Safety Awareness and ArriveAlive.co.za
On the 13th of March 2009 we celebrate 6 years since the launch of the Arrive Alive Road Safety Website March 2003. During the past year there have been significant progress and shifts in our online road safety strategy and it is time to reflect on these efforts, successes achieved and the major challenges faced during this time.
During the past year I made the choice to devote my attention full time to the development of these road safety initiatives. This enabled us to make significant progress despite numerous challenges.
It is also important at this time to give recognition to those who have made these efforts possible.
Brief historical overview of the Arrive Alive web site
The web site was launched on the 13th of March 2003 as a private initiative to assist the Department of Transport, road safety authorities and NGO’s in enhancing awareness of road safety.
Our Vision was described at the time as: "To develop an effective road safety information portal that will enhance awareness of road safety and save lives"
In November 2003 the developers was requested to add the official arrive alive logo to the web site by the official branding company of the Arrive Alive campaign at the time.
The web site has since been developed as a private public partnership with the Department of Transport and more recently the Road Traffic Management Corporation providing all the statistical data - and with online reports delivered to the Call Centre at the Road Traffic Management Corporation.
The major challenges to the development have always been financial constraints and the absence of state funding for the efforts to create online road safety awareness. It remains our vision to have full time developers dedicated to the development of the web site.
Transparency and Cooperation with Road Safety Authorities
Transparency with regards to the development of the Arrive Alive Website has always been most important. Transport Authorities such as the Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Corporation have been updated regularly on the progress with these road safety efforts.
Records are kept of all correspondence and we have always been available to meet and discuss road safety initiatives and enquire where we might be able to render assistance:
The following might provide some additional insight to the initial communications:
- 26 August 2003: Introductory email to the new Director General of Transport, Wrenelle Stander providing confirmation of the development of the Arrive Alive website.
- 10 November 2003: Request from the Marketing Agency of Arrive Alive at the time [ Veracity Incorporated] for the Arrive Alive Logo to be added to the website
- 18 November 2003: Message from the Manager Land Transport Regulation at the Department of Transport in appreciation of “fantastic work done with the website”
- 14 January 2004: Discussions with Department of Transport pertaining to the new section to be added to the website - the Call Centre and Reporting of Bad Driving
- 8 February 2004: Historical Perspective and Progress report sent to the Director General of Transport.
- 28 April 2004: Congratulatory message sent to the newly appointed Minister of Transport, Minister Jeff Radebe, as well as an invite to the Department of Transport to add media releases on the website.
- 13 July 2004: Progress report about the Arrive Alive website emailed to Dr Mbatha, appointed as intermediate CEO of the Road Traffic Management Corporation to be incorporated
- 17 March 2005: Congratulatory message sent to Mrs Mpumi Mpofu on her appointment as Director General of Transport and an offer to provide any information about the development of the Arrive Alive website thus far.
- 2 February 2007: Letter of Endorsement received from the Department of Transport
Road Safety Highlights
- CARS – Guild of Motoring Journalists – Road Safety Achievement Award for 2007 – awarded for the road safety initiative via www.arrivealive.co.za
- The motivation for the award was described as:
“quite exceptional achievement in founding, creating, building and sustaining the outstanding ArriveAlive.co.za website. “His achievement is a product of his commitment to the task, even when faced with initial resistance and no official support. ArriveAlive.co.za is today justly recognised by the road safety sector as well as the thousands of road users accessing it on a regular basis as an invaluable resource playing a meaningful role in improving South Africa’s less than good road safety climate”
- Meeting and liaising with Road Safety experts and enthusiasts and building life-long friendships.
- Public interaction and thousands of emails received, answered and assistance provided to the public
- A sense of achievement in making a positive contribution to society
- Search engine visibility achieved with Google Search rankings for searches related to “road safety” and “safety”
- Relationships built with partners and value created through these partnerships
- Recognition from international road safety practitioners for the quality of content developed.
- Wider distribution of road safety information in Magazines, Newspapers, Corporate newsletters and other online media.
- The significant reduction of road fatalities over the 2008 festive season must be seen as a highlight!
Creating road safety awareness via the website
The Arrive Alive Road Safety Website has been recognized as a credible information portal on a variety of road safety aspects.
Not only has permission been sought for reproduction of content by South African authors and publications – but also from numerous international publications.
Hard work and commitment to the creation of the best quality content has resulted in high visibility of the Arrive Alive website on international search engines.
Mediums used to create road safety awareness online
As new technology and social media mediums have become available, our initiatives in the creation of road safety had to adjust to incorporate these other mediums. The mediums used to distribute road safety information include:
Website:
- Arrive Alive Road Safety Website www.arrivealive.co.za
Blogs:
- Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog at www.roadsafety.wordpress.com
- Road Safety Blog at 24.com
- Guest posts at www.carblog.co.za
- Facebook Group: ArriveAlive.co.za - 993 members
Mobile Website:
- arrivealive.mobi
- Nigeria.arrivealive.mobi
Road Safety Content developed [Q& A] for exposure on Mxit
Other Mediums used to create awareness of Road Safety
- Radio Interviews:
RSG, SAFM, Classic FM, Radio Pulpit, Radio Namakwaland etc - Television :
Appearance on ETV
Content provided for several television programs including Carte Blanche, The Big Question etc - Printed Mediums:
Content from the website included in Magazines, Brochures etc
Numerous road safety messages have been included in Company Newsletters, Circulars etc - Road Safety Conferences
During the past 6 years the Arrive Alive website has been a media partner to several road safety conferences, providing exposure to these conferences and the presentations delivered.
Monitoring Progress of online exposure to content from the Arrive Alive Website
Website analytics have been used to provide information on visitor behavior and this has assisted the developers to design new strategies on aspects to be addressed. We would like to share an overview of this data provided by Google Analytics since the launch of the newly designed website [date 15 July 2008]
Overview of Arrive Alive Website 13 March 2009
Herewith find an overview of the website and road safety exposure provided:
Google Analytics [15 July 2008 – 12 March 2009] –New site launched 15 July 2008
- 92,130 Visits
- 233,210 Pageviews
- visits came from 180 countries/territories
- Referring sites sent 15,867 visits via 797 sources
- Search engines sent 62,448 total visits via 15 sources
- Search engines sent 34,327 total visits via 34, 438 keywords
Overview / Info about the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog/ www.roadsafety.wordpress.com
- Launched 28 February 2007
- 811 Blog Posts
- 556 Comments Approved
- 135,595 Blog Views
Search Engines / Google and the Arrive Alive website
The Arrive Alive website features prominently on Search Engine phrases for the search term “road safety” and any aspect related to road safety
A better indication of the vast volume of content created can be found by the search “site:www.arrivealive.co.za”
Public Participation in Road Safety
What role can the Arrive Alive website and social media play in achieving the goals of Batho Pele? It is now much easier to involve public participation in exposing areas of concern and addressing these concerns. Perhaps it is time to acknowledge that service delivery does not have to depend on millions of rands and we can start by doing the small things better.
Public participation in road safety awareness has been achieved through the following:
- “Contact Us” on ArriveAlive.co.za
- Thousands of e-mails have been received via the “Contact Us” section - these have been responded to and forwarded to the Department of Transport, Road Traffic Management Corporation and various road safety experts for further comment.
- Blog Comments on the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog
- Visitors to the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog are able to comment on blog posts and also request clarification or answers to specific questions.
- These questions have been answered on the Blog and where appropriate a Blog post has been added to provide additional details to these responses and enable other visitors to benefit from these responses.
- Ask the Expert
- A section was created called “Ask the Experts” to provide specialised knowledge to members of the public on technical questions.
- Questions are referred to experts in the fields of licensing, testing, enforcement, road freight, legislation, safe driving etc and the answers are added to the website
- The Arrive Alive website has partnered with the 24.com service Answerit to answer additional road safety related questions
- Reporting of Bad Driving
- A "Call Centre Section" has been created on the website enabling the public to register as Voluntary Public Traffic Observers and to report bad driving from the website to the National Traffic Call Centre at the RTMC.
- Public Observers have also been enabled to report hazardous road conditions
- Thousands of these reports have been received and delivered to the National Traffic Call Centre at the RTMC
- Wall of Remembrance
- The Wall of Remembrance on the ArriveAlive.co.za website has been developed to support and give recognition to the Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims and compliment the efforts by Government and NGO’s to enhance awareness of road safety!
- It is our vision that this Wall of Remembrance will promote the sharing of knowledge and a greater commitment to road safety, better care and support for victims, a reduction in the number of future victims, and improvement in road safety globally, regionally, nationally and locally.
- Facebook Group:ArriveAlive.co.za
- An ArriveAlive.co.za Group has been created on Facebook to stimulate further discussion and interaction.
At present this Group features:
- 993 members
- 61 Wall Posts
- 14 Discussion topics
- 337 Photos
- 290 links
- 23 Videos
Overview of some content provided:
Since the launch of the Arrive Alive Website in March 2003 road safety information from the website has been included in a numerous newspapers, magazines and other online media. We would like to provide a better understanding of these efforts by providing insight to the variety of publications in which ArriveAlive.co.za content featured:
-::- NEWS24.COM -
- Report a road hog today
- Underage Drivers - Avoid the Risks
- Avoiding Aggressive Driving
- Avoid Distractions while driving
- Buckle-Up Please! Always!
-::- Road Matters December 2007 -
- A day in the life of a South African paramedic
- Medication and the effect thereof on driver fitness
- Human error as major cause of accidents
- Some advice from the experts
- Five Primary school children knocked down by car
-::- Traffic Focus -
- October/November - Corruption, Traffic Enforcement and Road Safety Page1
- October/November - Corruption, Traffic Enforcement and Road Safety Page 2
- October/November - Vehicle Maintenance and Road Safety Page1
- October/November - Vehicle Maintenance and Road Safety Page2
- October/November - Road Safety in South Africa Page 1
- October/November - Road Safety in South Africa Page 2
- October/November - Advanced Driving and Road Safety Page1
- October/November - Advanced Driving and Road Safety Page2
- July 2008 - Avoiding Animals on the Road
-::- ITInews -
- Corruption, Traffic Enforcement and Road Safety
-::- Road Ahead -
- One man's drive
-::- BUSINESS TRAVELLER AFRICA -
- Rules of the road SA Style - October 2007
- 'Help pedestrians' Arrive Alive - March 2008
-::- GLAMOUR MAGAZINE -
- How are you getting home? - September 2006
-::- BUSINESS DAY -
- Major award for road safety website
-::- CLASSIC FM -
- The Internet Economy with Reuben Goldberg
-::- GLAMOUR MAGAZINE -
- How are you getting home? - September 2006
-::- BLOODBEAT -
- Road Safety at your Fingertips (August 2006)
- Drive The Road Safety Message Home (October - December 2007)
-::- DRUM MAGAZINE -::-
- Drum Magazine 23 February 2006
-::- VOLKSWAGEN MAGAZINE -::-
- World of Volkswagen
- Handle Any Situation
- Under the Bonnet - Internet Highway
-::- BHP BILLITON NEWSLETTER -::-
- Medication and the effect on driving
-::- BIZ-COMMUNITY.COM -::-
- Faster vehicles become victims of road rage
- Arrive Alive boosted by privately funded online campaign
-::- FLEETWATCH -::-
- Road Safety and the arrive alive website March 2005
- Hats off road safety stars
-::- MENS HEALTH MAGAZINE -::-
- Men's Health - October 2005
- Men's Health - October 2003
-::- EAGLE CANYON COUNTRY CLUB MAGAZINE -::-
- The Eagle - December 2005
- The Eagle - April 2006
-::- FEMINA MAGAZINE -::-
- Femina Magazine - January 2006
-::- CRISIS CALL -::-
- Crisis Call
-::- IT WEB.CO.ZA -::-
- Arrive Alive joins Facebook
- Load shedding road survival guide
- Arrive Alive prepares for Holiday Season
- Website aims to cut road deaths
- Stats boost accident awareness site
- Arrive Alive Web site gears up for the holidays
- New Site aims to combat road deaths
- Arrive Alive widens its Web
-::- MONEYWEB.CO.ZA -::-
- The Road Warrior
- Moneyweb Power Hour. "Quoted before Easter 2008"
- Too many crashes not accidents
- Do tell, for the sake of Safety!
- Big Brother could apply brakes
- Angry Nation on the Roads
- PPP for safer roads
- Taxi recapitalization in perspective
- More traffic officers
- Are we reporting bad drivers
-::- REPORTER.CO.ZA -::-
- Commuter buses require scrutiny
- Most SA road accidents are avoidable
- More traffic officers
- How you can help keep death off the roads this Easter
- Drunken Driving - Let's get really tough
-::- INSURANCE-TIMES.NET -::-
- Road rage and how to avoid it
-::- EZEEDIABETES.CO.ZA -::-
- "What do you normally do when angered by an aggressive driver?"
-::- ALLESMOTORS.CO.ZA -::-
- Padwoede is aan die toeneem
- ‘n Bloemfonteinse advokaat het die webwerf www.arrivealive.co.za ontwikkel
-::- RAPPORT -::-
- Maak die speelgoed veiliger (Rapport Sondag 12 Augustus 2007)
- Gevaarlike bestuurders kan hul voertuie kwyt wees (Rapport Sondag 21 November 2004)
-::- BEELD -::-
- Kla hier oor padvarke wat jou dag versuur
- Arrive Alive kry webwerfhulp
- Padveiligheid op die net
-::- DIE BURGER -::-
- Muur van herinnering vir geliefdes op internet
- Motoriste mag padvarke rapporteer
- Padsterftes in Desember kos land miljoene rande
-::- VOLKSBLAD -::-
- Botsing: Advokate het gewaarsku
- Moenie geldelike gevolge van dronkbestuur onderskat
-::- CITIZEN -::-
- Beware of Spies on the Roads
-::- SOWETAN -::-
- Report all drivers talking without hands-free kits
-::- VROUEKEUR -::-
- Verwoesting in 'n glas
-::- SABC -::-
- Cybersurf - driver awareness
-::- Bicycling Magazine -::-
- Bicycling Magazine Page 1
- Bicycling Magazine Page 2
-::- 5fm-::-
- 18 May 2005
-::- SUNDAY TIMES -::-
- Enforcing law is key to survival
- SA drivers need an attitude overhaul
- Law enforcement key to success of Arrive Alive
- Time for drivers to stop passing the buck
-::- OTHER PUBLICATIONS -::-
- Behind The Wheel with Auto Traider - Festive Tips (Page 1)
- Behind The Wheel with Auto Traider - Festive Tips (Page 2)
- AUTOADS
- SERVAMUS
- SANTAM FOCUS – SPRING EDITION
- CAR MAGAZINE – MAY 2003
- JIP - VOLKSBLAD JEUGJOERNAAL
- PUBLIC SERVANTS ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER – AUGUST EDITION
- MUNIMAG VOLUME3 2003
- INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA BULLETIN 28 MARCH 2008
To view these articles, visit: https://www.arrivealive.co.za/pages.aspx?i=2827
Recognition to those who have made this possible
During the past 6 years we have discovered that there is much goodwill amongst road safety authorities and enthusiasts and I would like to express my appreciation to:
- The Department of Transport, the Road Traffic Management Corporation and other Road Safety Authorities and NGO’s promoting road safety for supplying content and media releases
- The Chairman of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Jeremy Cronin, for his words of inspiration
- Owners and developers of prominent web sites and Blogs who have assisted in the wider distribution of the materials included on the Arrive Alive web site
- A special word of appreciation to the Corporate Partners / Sponsors who have assisted in the development of the Arrive Alive Website – there have been many different partners – but a special mention to those who are assisting us at present :
- Outsurance
- Netcare 911
- TomTom
- Digicore
- Clear Vision Optometrists
- Puisano Business Development
- mCubed /OTRE
- Precision Safety Appliances
I would also like to express my gratitude towards Nelio, the programmers and graphic designers at Chillies [With special mention to Charl Wilson and Pierre Steenkamp] who have shared my enthusiasm and spent many hours on the development of the website.
The development of the content would not have been possible without the kind assistance of many professionals in different fields of expertise. I would like to express my gratitude to these individuals who have offered their time and expertise to assist road users by making available information on the Arrive Alive website.
We would also like to extend a word of appreciation to all the journalists, editors and writers who have taken the information and distributed it to a wider audience.
Challenges for further Development
- These efforts are not funded by the Government, DOT or RTMC
- The Development is at present depending on Corporate Support
- In the current economic downturn many corporates are cutting expenses on social and worthy causes
- One Media Agency of a corporate has referred to road safety involvement as a “nice to have” and not “a must have”
- The ability to find the right partners for these road safety initiatives and to gain funding for further development.
- Being able to identify between empty promises and good intentions on the one side – and honesty, dedication and hard work on the other!
The way forward:
- We will continue to do more, to work harder and to assist in creating awareness of road safety.
- Development of new media technology will result in us having to use this technology in our efforts to facilitate public interaction.
- Road deaths in South Africa require cooperation between many different entities – and the Arrive Alive Road Safety website will do everything to provide online road safety education.
- In these efforts we will do our utmost to cooperate with Government and the private sector and keep recognizing the kind assistance of those who share our vision!
- We will continue to provide positive exposure to our partners and their brands.
- We will also assist other road safety activists in creating awareness of road safety and will seek to expand this across borders and social mediums.
We would like to extend a word of appreciation to all our visitors and the role they have played in the development of the website. Their questions and suggestions have alerted us to the needs of our road users and the information that they might require. We would like to invite all road users to continue sending us their suggestions and comments to info@arrivealive.co.za
“The fruit of silence is PRAYER. The fruit of prayer is FAITH. The fruit of Faith is LOVE. The fruit of Love is SERVICE. The fruit of service is PEACE.” [Mother Theresa]
Adv Johan Jonck
www.arivealive.co.za
Arrive Alive website
Click on the image to download the 6 year overview PDF