(New York, USA) – Vital Strategies today congratulated the city of Bandung, Indonesia, on the launch of a new, hard-hitting mass media campaign addressing the lack of seat belt use in the city – a key risk factor contributing to more than 1.25 million deaths and up to an additional 50 million injuries on the world’s roads annually. The campaign was launched at a press conference at the City Hall Auditorium on November. 7.
In partnership with Vital Strategies and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), Bandung’s “Klik Biar Selamat” (Click for Safety) campaign implores vehicle occupants to fasten their seat belts to help prevent death and injury when a crash does occur. The campaign will feature a Public Service Announcement (PSA) that will run on television and social media for four weeks. The “Klik Biar Selamat” microsite can be viewed here.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), seat belts have a 50 percent efficacy rate in preventing fatalities in crashes. Latest observational data also shows that over 30 percent of vehicle occupants do not buckle up in the city.
“Road injury is the 10th leading cause of death around the world. With more people drawn to cities, the number of fatal crashes will increase without intervention,” said José Luis Castro, President and CEO of Vital Strategies. “Mass media campaigns paired with strong policy enforcement can make roads safer and prevent road traffic deaths and injuries. We are proud to support the city of Bandung in its relentless effort to save lives and reduce injuries.”
Bandung’s campaign will be supported by enforcement efforts, including one of the city’s semi-annual “Zebra Operation” – a crackdown on traffic violations by the police in November.
In August, the city released it’s first-ever Annual Road Safety Report for 2015-16, revealing that Bandung experienced 84 deaths and an additional 798 injuries on its roads in 2016. The city’s commitment to data tracking is a key factor in shaping targeted campaigns and monitoring behavior change.
The campaign is Bandung’s second as part of BIGRS. The first campaign, also titled “Klik Biar Selamat,” addressed proper helmet use and launched in June, 2016. The television and social media campaign reached over 3 million people.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. Our team combines evidence-based strategies with innovation to help develop and implement sound public health policies, manage programs efficiently, strengthen data systems, conduct research, and design strategic communication campaigns for policy and behavior change. To find out more, please visit vstrategystage.wpengine.com or Twitter @VitalStrat.
For further information or to arrange an interview with a Vital Strategies public health expert, please contact press@vitalstrategies.org.