‘Join the conversation ... help us to save lives’

Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, last week urged social media influencers to use their platforms to stimulate behaviour change among their followers.

She was addressing a group of 15 participants at a sensitisation session, hosted by the Jamaica National Foundation to explore innovative strategies to improve the effectiveness of messages promoting road safety.

Allen expressed concern about what she called a worrying trend where young men in their prime - 19 to 24 years old, were falling victims to fatal motorcycle crashes.

“The message has to be communicated in a manner that is authentic and relatable for the audience. Where road use is concerned, no one is immortal, and no one is safe from poor decisions or the poor habits of other people. We are all affected,” she said.

“We want you to join the conversation and help us to save lives,” she said.

“A lot of work has been done, but there is more to do, and we hope that this discussion today will be the start of a journey of collaboration and impactful, productive, relationships which change the behaviour of road-users,” she said.

The participants welcomed the opportunity for collaboration and expressed their commitment to engage the audience with these critical road-safety messages to change behaviour.

Sergeant Craig Bonitto of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch at the Jamaica Constabulary Force, who was one of the speakers, shared that for the past six years, road fatalities have been in the region of 400 deaths per year. He said all categories of road-users are affected, including motorcyclists, pedestrians, motorists, and pedal cyclists.

“As a result of road crashes, a significant number of persons suffer from serious life-changing experiences. It costs the Government of Jamaica millions of dollars to treat crash victims annually. Jamaica has a big problem [relating] to road safety,” he said.

He added, “The statistics of one to two road fatalities a day are totally unacceptable. We must do something about this. Road safety should be at the forefront of (the minds of) our motoring public in Jamaica. Safety within itself should be part of our Jamaican culture. We want to make our roadways much safer and [that they] equip the motoring public with the knowledge base tool to achieve this.”

Chelan Smith, media personality and digital entrepreneur of boutique digital marketing firm, Chelan Communications, supported the initiative noting that social media influencers can drive behaviour change.

“I think social media influencers can be thought leaders for the younger generation, as well as for the older generation. I think when you have social media influencers driving home a point continuously, it will become more acceptable and would be more of a soft sell than a hard sell.” She pointed out that there are different ways to influence people to do the right thing.

Jhunelle Jureidini, a travel writer and content creator, also agreed that messages from social media influencers can be impactful, and were an important link.

“People tend to relate to us more because they trust us more. When you teach and educate people about road safety on a wider platform, such as social media, a lot of people will not only learn, but will also be inspired to possibly change their behaviour,” she said.

Omar Wright, lead, environment, and community development at JN Foundation, said that deeper engagements with the social media influencers will entail developing collaborative messages. He said, beyond that, JN Foundation is also implementing a National Helmet Project in collaboration with the National Road Safety Council, through funding from the FIA Foundation, that will seek to encourage motor-cyclists to wear helmets. He added that the JN Foundation will also be embarking upon a school intervention programme with its sister company, the Jamaica Automobile Association, in the coming year.