Encouraging drivers to 'think walking'

Image credit: State of Queensland

Overview of action

Action 3.1, Action Plan for Walking 2019–2021
Status: Complete

StreetSmarts has used social media posts to promote safety issues that affect walking and encourage walking as an active transport alternative. The program has achieved considerable engagement from road users and raised awareness about road rules that relate to walking. 

Achievements

StreetSmarts aims to help everyone use our roads in a smarter way. We provide tips and tools to help us all stay more alert, share the roads and take extra care.

Safety issues addressed by StreetSmarts social media to support walking include encouraging drivers to be careful in areas with high levels of walking, giving way to walkers when turning and encouraging drivers not to park across driveways. We have also posted on sharing the path, distracted walking and drink walking.

These posts have reached a combined audience of over 2.5 million people and generated engagement with road users.

• encouraging people to make a New Year's resolution to walk more (January 2021): this post reached over half a million people
• encouraging drivers not to park across driveways (February 2020):  this post had a reach of 223,000 and received 17,000 engagements including 254 shares 
• a road rules quiz to encourage drivers to watch out for people walking and riding when turning across the footpath (May 2021): this post reached just under half a million drivers.

Next steps

Social media posts to encourage people to walk everyday will continue to be published quarterly. 

More information

Streetsmarts Facebook page.