Raising Awareness

Changes in behaviour are likely to occur if a climate of opinion has been created within our society which makes safe behaviour an integral part of people's lifestyle. People need to see accidents as a serious problem that can be addressed. This means that they must have the information about preventive measures available.

Although accurate information is the backbone of all safety work, it does not necessarily lead to changes in behaviour. Information needs to be supported by the skills and opportunities to make decisions and act upon them. This is not easy to provide and so it is important to encourage Health Alliances to utilise the wide range of expertise available within the County.

Influencing Behaviour

Many accidents occur because of human factors as well as a result of unsafe products or environmental circumstances. There is a close link between these, for instance in choice of transport mode - using cars instead of buses, trains, cycles and walking.

Many preventative measures have to be implemented by people themselves and are more likely to be successful if single action is needed (for example the one off installation of safety film to glass).

Other factors which will influence whether a preventative measure will be taken and how effective it will be are:

• the ease with which a measure can be taken
• its cost
• the time it takes to install or use correctly
• its convenience or level or priority in relation to other aspects of family life

The Environment

Making changes in the environment through engineering, planning, design, manufacture and marketing of safer products can be one of the most effective ways of preventing accidents. Such changes are frequently achieved through legislation, standards and codes of practice which are then monitored by the various enforcement agencies.

Other environmental measures require the active participation of the public. Their effectiveness relies on a specific action being carried out on one or more occasions e.g. wearing of seat belts. These measures may be less effective than passive intervention e.g. safety film added to glass, as they rely on people's behaviour, but they are frequently the changes which are more easily available to an individual and therefore can be effective.