~ There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results. ~
Introduction / Background to the Arrive Alive Website
At the start of 2011 we need to reflect on our online road safety initiatives during 2010. This is done not only with the aim of providing feedback to our road safety partners, but also towards improving and defining strategies for 2011.
The Arrive Alive website was launched on the 13th of March 2003 with the objective to provide the best possible information portal for Road Safety in South Africa. As new technology has become available, so have our efforts increased to use these technological advances in the efforts to create awareness of road safety and facilitate greater interaction between the public and road safety experts, groups and authorities.
Objectives:
The Arrive Alive Website and related Road Safety Initiatives Overview 2010 will provide a detailed overview of:
- the progress made in 2010
- initiatives undertaken to improve road safety awareness
- medium used to share information
- target audience and wider audience reached
- public interaction facilitated
- making this possible
- how to get involved
Highlights:
South Africa will always be remembered for the successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup. The Department of Tourism has revealed that 309,000 tourists visited South Africa during the duration of the Football World Cup.
The Arrive Alive website was an important portal for the safe travel of many tourists- and this was recognized when the Directorate: 2010 Unit Government Communication and Information System approached us with a request to use information from the website for the official 2010 website and mobi site at m.sa2010.gov.za. Links were shared between both the websites.
It was a highlight to see the Arrive Alive logo in the branding at all the Football World Cup Games - and to experience greater awareness of road safety during the World Cup!!
The Appearance of Freddy, our Road Safety Mascot at a nursery school and the children’s ward of the Sandton Medi-Clinic deserves a mention as a highlight as well! We will seek to find the funding to provide more information that is accessible to our youngest road users!!
We have also contributed as guest writer to a GPS Blog, a Car Insurance Blog and other Blogs about road safety.
Online Traffic and Online Platforms
We would like to share the website and blog statistics pertaining to online traffic as provided by the measurement tools from Google Analytics and Wordpress.
- Overview of Arrive Alive Website 31 December 2010
Herewith find an overview of the website and road safety exposure provided:
Google Analytics [1 January 2010 – 31 December 2010]
- 257,899 Visits
- 521,107 Page views
- Visits came from 201 countries/territories
- Referring sites sent 33,090 visits via 1,257 sources
- Search engines sent 191,943 total visits via 22 sources
- Search engines sent 191,943 total visits via 102,436 keywords
- Launched 4 May 2009
Google Analytics [1 January 2010 -31 December 2010]
-134,599 Visits
- 227,763 Page views
- Visits came from 195 countries/territories
- Referring sites sent 31,702 visits via 877 sources
- Search engines sent 85,426 total visits via 16 sources
- Search engines sent 85,426 total visits via 49,269 keywords
- 582 Blog Posts
- 205 Comments Approved
At 31 December 2010 the Road Safety Blog has
1400 Blog Posts
502 Comments Approved
- Launched 12 January 2010
Google Analytics [12 January 2010 -31 December 2010]
-34,133 Visits
- 63,369 Page views
- Visits came from 156 countries/territories
- Referring sites sent 13,393visits via 409 sources
- Search engines sent 13,758 total visits via 16 sources
- Search engines sent 13,758 total visits via 9,045 keywords
- 543 Blog Posts
- 55 Comments Approved
- Overview / Info about the Road Safety & Arrive Alive Blog at www.roadsafety.wordpress.com
- Launched 28 February 2007
- Blog visits/ views for 2010: 127,955
Data on 31 December 2010 since start:
1,364 Blog Posts
- 965 Comments Approved
- Overview / Facebook Group: ArriveAlive.co.za
An ArriveAlive.co.za Group has been created on Facebook to stimulate further discussion and interaction.
At 31 December 2010 this Group features:
- 1571members
- 479 Photos
- 903 links
- 34 Videos
During 2010 the members were alerted to the launch of a dedicated Arrive Alive.co.za Fan Page on Facebook.
At 31 December 2010 the Fan Page features:
- 1303 Fans
- 516 Links
Mobile websites / Mixit / Mobi Applications
Google Analytics [From 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2010]
- 7284 Visits
- Referring sites sent 1,020 visits via 98 sources
- Search sent 1,084 total visits via 875 keywords
- Visits from 53 countries
- The Arrive Alive website partnered with the developers of a K53 Mobile Application to create awareness and enable learner drivers to test their knowledge from their cellular phones.
Exposure and Road Safety Awareness Efforts in other Media
It is important that we reach a far wider audience than those with access to the internet. The Arrive Alive online road safety initiatives are also aimed at journalists, reporters, researchers and teachers who are able to gather the road safety information and distribute to a wider audience.
We would like to focus on some of these other media that distributed the road safety information from the Arrive Alive website and recognized this:
Media Exposure
Magazines
Sarie
Huisgenoot
Cosmopolitan
Women's Health magazine: Driving Distraction
CAR Magazine
Topcar
Lig Magazine
SA Safe Travel Magazine
Shape Magazine
Midrand Estate Magazine
Newspapers
Sunday Times
Rapport
Sunday Independent
Pretoria News
Die Burger
Beeld
Volksblad
Cape Times
Saturday Star Newspaper
The City Press
The Mirror Community Newspaper
Eland Nuus Community Newspaper in Claremont
Maritzburg Views
Company Newsletter /Circulars
The Arrive Alive website has been approached by many corporates with a request for information to be used in their own internal road safety campaigns. This has been included on the intranet of companies and in company newsletters. These companies and forums include:
Syntell Newsletter
The JD Group Club A magazine
4 A Kid Newsletter
Reference to the website in Newsletter of the International Union of Railways
Radio Interviews and Exposure to Road Safety Messages
The Arrive Alive website has been approached by several radio stations for interviews and road safety updates, especially during Easter and the December festive season. We have referred many of these to spokespersons at the Department of Transport and the RTMC, and have taken part in interviews on the following radio stations:
RSG Radio
Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk
Radio 786 100.4 fm
OFM
Chai FM
Online Media
An important benefit of an online information portal is the ability to share the website via other websites and blogs. The information from the Arrive Alive website or links to the website has been included on many prominent websites including:
News24.com
BBC News
The Times
Raceweb.co.za online Magazine
Shellinfosight
JHBLive.co.za etc
Television and Film
Assistance and information were provided to the producers of television programs about road safety:
Kwela Express – SABC 2 – a Series of Transport related Programs
CNBC Africa
ETV
Carol Bouwer Productions Program for SABC2
Filmmakers - short documentary on biking
Books
Book: Steven Webb - Paramedics: Lights and Sirens
Awesome SA
Text Book New Highlight Grade 6 [Germany]
Conference Partner
The Arrive Alive website was Media Partner to several Conferences:
- Intelligence Strategies For Law Enforcers
- 6th Annual Southern Africa Road Safety Summit
- 2ND Annual Road Safety Sumit
- Africa Road Safety Indaba
Intermediary and Consulting Services
During 2010 we assisted as intermediary and facilitator to several road safety projects by providing information, media exposure and granting permission for website content to be included in educational materials. These services include:
- Intervarsity Arrive Alive project 2010 managed by Dept of Social Services, North West University
- Addressing students at UFS RAG - House N J Van der Merwe University of the Free State
- Curriculum material for high school teaching units on road safety as contracted by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia in Canada
- Permission granted to make use of some of the information published on the arivalive.co.za website to enhance an Advanced Driving Course in the Western Cape
- Permission granted to use materials in Advertising & Promotions Level 3 Student’s Book.
- Permission for logo in Vuka Awards Adverts
- Assistance rendered for Safety Campaigns by companies such as for Chevron / Anglo American /Eskom / Steinmuller/ Sappi/ Standard Bank
- Content shared on behalf of Cycle 4 Life, Project by Department of Community Safety Gauteng Province
- Facilitating a sponsorship of a braai on the spit as a sign of appreciation by the good work from the traffic officers at the RTI Park Rynie.
Public Interaction via the Arrive Alive Website
To be not only an effective information portal, but also a mechanism for greater public involvement, we have developed sections to enhance greater public interaction. An often overlooked, yet very important objective is to assist the public in gaining clarity on road safety matters and provide responses to queries raised via the Arrive Alive website.
Herewith find a detailed summary of how public interaction was facilitated during 2009:
“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.
These emails are kept in various email folders for later reference.
Emails received and Responded to Arrive Alive.co.za website:
Arrive Alive email 2010 Folder: 6312
Arrive Alive 2010 Folder: 2126
Arrive Alive Media Folder: 43
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 Experts Section
- 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
Experts assisting with Road Safety related questions
The Development Team of the Arrive Alive website recognizes that there are others with more experience and expertise in specific fields of road safety education, legislation, enforcement etc.
We have approached these individuals to join in providing answers to the public on the “Ask the Experts Section”. We appreciate and would like to recognize the assistance rendered in 2010 by the following road safety experts:
Kevin Kara-Vala 10 years experience in the road traffic environment, specifically relating to traffic administration and licensing, road traffic legislation and traffic information systems (NaTIS and eNaTIS).
Gavin Kelly 21 Years experience in Transport safety, Road Legislation & Regulatory Environment
Rajen Chinaboo Chief Provincial Inspector Road Traffic Inspectorate Head Office -KZN PLANNING AND ADVICE
Colin Govender 16 Years committed to road safety / transport.
Michael De Broglio Michael is a former Chairperson of the Johannesburg Attorneys Association and the of the Gauteng Law Council.
Gavin Hoole 25 years' experience in creating self-study manuals, including several books/CDs for students preparing for the Learner's Licence and Driver's Licence tests.
Rob Handfield - Jones Managing Director of driving.co.za a driving skills training company
Petro Kruger 14 years experience in road safety and motoring matters
Stan Bezuidenhout 31 years experience in collision investigation, analysis, reconstruction and law enforcement. (With experience at more than 7,500 collisions)
Alta Swanepoel Alta has been involved in the drafting of road traffic legislation since 1989.
Caro Smit 4 years involved in road safety with SADD – 15 years involved with teaching about Drinking and driving to scholars and adults
Ally Cohen Three years with 4 A Kid, specialising in child safety products and helping to create awareness about child safety in South Africa.
Howard Dembovsky Founder and current National Chairman of Justice Project South Africa since 2008
- The Arrive Alive website has also partnered with the 24.com service Answerit to answer additional road safety related questions
Interactive Sections on the Arrive Alive Website
Celebrity Wall
We believe that road safety awareness should however not only depend on the memories of the fallen road accident victims – but can also be promoted by positive messages from celebrities who wish to encourage their fans to stay safe on the roads!
Celebrities are followed closely and their fans often attempt to emulate their actions! They face many unique safety challenges and are well aware of the dangers of peer pressure and risks on our roads. We believe that road safety message from our celebrities will have much more impact than those only received from road safety authorities and traffic officials.
During 2010 we have added more celebrities in the world of sport, music, television and entertainment to share their thought on road safety and inspire our road users to safe behaviour on the roads!
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!
39 entries by families of road accident victims at 31 December 2010
Reports made via the Arrive Alive website to the National Traffic Call Centre at the RTMC
2440 Reports of Bad Driving
72 Road Condition Reports
Pages of content developed and added to the Arrive Alive.co.za Website in 2010
Content pages on the Arrive Alive website are regularly edited, updated and improved. During 2010 we were able to add new content pages as well and would like to share these new pages:
- Cycling safely on South African roads and mountain bike trails
- Road Safety Tips for the Festive Season from ArriveAlive.co.za
- Shatterprufe and Road Safety
- LLumar Window Film and Road Safety
- Cycling Safety Suggestions for South African Conditions
- CrisisOnCall , Emergency Roadside Assistance and Road Safety
- Quad Bike Insurance and Accidents
- Shock Absorbers and Safety on the Road
- Wheel Balance, Wheel Alignment and Safe Driving
- Energy Drinks, Driver Alertness/ Tiredness and Safe Driving
- Breathalysers.co.za and Road Safety
- Aerocare, Emergency Medical Air Evacuation and Road Safety
- Safe Driving in the Fog and Mist
- Firearms, Accidents and Road Safety
- brandhouse/ RTMC Number One Taxi Driver Fact Sheet
- Car Insurance Advice / Education and Road Safety in South Africa
- Road Safety during the 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa
- Hearing and Road Safety
- How To Become a Traffic Trainee
- How do I become a Driving Instructor?
- How do I become a Paramedic?
- Travelling Speed and the Risk of Crash Involvement
- The relationships between enforcement effort and speeds
- Science & Speed Camera Enforcement
- Roadworks and Road Safety
- ClearPlex and Road Safety
- Road Accident Family Protection Plan
- Traffic Fine Payment and Road Safety
- Travel insurance and safety for travellers
- 4x4 Driving and Vehicle Insurance
News stories shared on the Arrive Alive Website during 2010
576 From Arrive Alive.co.za
491 Road Safety in the Media
318 Road Safety Highlights
224 Dept. of Transport
How did we do this?
We should not only provide information on the successes achieved, but also reflect on the challenges during 2010 and recognize those who have assisted in making road safety awareness possible.
Things you might not know:
- The development team consists of 1 full time and 2 “part time” members.
- The Website received a Letter of Endorsement from The Department of Transport in 2007
- The Arrive Alive website and online initiatives are not funded by the Department of Transport or the Road Traffic Management Corporation
- NO Funding was received in 2010 from the Department of Transport or the RTMC
- There is no marketing budget for these online road safety initiatives.
To create road safety awareness via the Arrive Alive website and other media we approached companies to partner in these efforts. From our side we provide exposure and recognition to these partners and their road safety involvement on the website and blogs.
Recognition to Road Safety Partners / Arrive Alive Website Sponsors
We would like to recognize the Assistance of these Road Safety Partners during 2009:
Outsurance
TomTom
ER24
SAB
Trac N4
GSK –Lucozade
Gabriel
PG Glass
Brandhouse
Digicore
Precision Safety Appliances
Mikros Systems
Aerocare
Reutech
Breathalysers.co.za
mCubed
We would also like to recognize individuals and groups that made important contributions:
- Chillies and Nelio for allowing us to operate from the Chillies offices in Bloemfontein.
- Charl Wilson for website development
- Pierre Steenkamp for graphics and multimedia
- Internext for webhosting
Individuals from the Department of Transport and the RTMC for answering many questions and providing feedback to the public
- Journalists, reporters, media editors, webmasters and everyone who assisted in the wider distribution of road safety information from the Website and Blogs
- Individuals from SANRAL and the RAF for feedback provided to questions from the Public.
- Family, friends and everyone who have been positive and provided words of inspiration.
How can I get involved?
We will continue to commit ourselves to these road safety efforts. There is so much more we can achieve with the participation of both corporate South Africa and individuals. We recognize that there are much expertise and knowledge to be gathered in strengthening these efforts.
We would like to invite others to become part of the road safety initiatives. This could include:
- Becoming an Arrive Alive Website partner
We will discuss with such partner how such partnering contribution can be used to develop new sections of content. The partner will be provided with exposure of such a partnership by way of:
Exposure to logos
Sections of Content
Horizontal and other banners/ graphics
Blog Posts and media exposure on the road safety initiatives and corporate social corporate responsibility initiatives of the Partner
- Advisor and Consulting Services
Every person can contribute to road safety irrespective of age, gender or financial status. We would like to invite the public to contribute by sending advice and recommendations on how to achieve greater road safety in South Africa. We welcome any suggestions on new content or additional means of creating awareness that should be pursued.
We would like to invite visitors to contact us with suggestions at
Contact details:
Adv Johan Jonck
Email: jonckie@arrivealive.co.za
Contact Number: 0823700991
Partnering with Miningsafety.co.za
During the past few years the Arrive Alive have often assisted Mining companies in South Africa with the supply of information for safety campaigns at these mines. This relationship will now be taken a step further in 2011!
The Arrive Alive website has agreed to partner with the Website Miningsafety.co.za to be launched in early 2011. We will share both content and expertise gained during the past few years as online safety consultant.
It is our vision that the Arrive Alive website can make a significant contribution to not only safety on our roads -but also to the safety in the Mining Industry!
Click to download the Arrive Alive.co.za Online Road Safety Initiatives 200 Review