JN Foundation hosts social media influencers for road safety advocacy
In an effort to bolster road safety advocacy and bring attention to road fatality trends, including young men aged 19 to 24 dying due to motorcycle crashes, the JN Foundation hosted 15 influential voices from the realm of social media to explore innovative strategies to improve the effectiveness of messages promoting road safety.
“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,” said Claudine Allen, general manager, JN Foundation.
Sergeant Craig Bonitto of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch at the Jamaica Constabulary Force reiterated the alarming statistics.
“For the past six years, road fatalities have been in the region of 400 deaths per year. All categories of road users are affected, including motorcyclists, pedestrians, motorists, and pedal cyclists,” said Bonitto.
Allen urged the social media influencers to use their platforms to stimulate behaviour change among their followers.
“We want you to join the conversation and help us to save lives. 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,” said Allen.
The participants welcomed the opportunity for collaboration and expressed their commitment to engage their audience with these critical road safety messages to change behaviour, amongst whom were Chelan Smith and Jhunelle Jureidini.
“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,” said Smith, media personality and digital entrepreneur of boutique digital marketing firm, Chelan Communications.
Jureidini, travel writer and content creator, added a similar statement: “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.
