Traffic education campaigns and animal-vehicle collisions in Brazil.

Abstract

Educational traffic campaigns aim to alert the population about adoption of behaviors that bring safety and quality in traffic. Animal-vehicle collisions are one of the most visible impacts on roads, and the planning of measures to reduce these collisions is justified for at least three reasons: animal welfare, financial cost, and drivers and passengers' safety. We evaluated whether the impact of animal-vehicle collisions was present in educational traffic campaigns and if campaigns showed any other environmental issues. We analyzed 205 campaigns from state and national traffic departments in Brazil. Although "collision" was the most frequent subject, animal-vehicle collisions only appeared on two campaigns, both portraying domestic animals. The identified environmental issues were "animal-vehicle collision" and "garbage", and most campaigns did not have an environmental focus. We highlighted some directions to include the subject of wildlife-vehicle collisions in traffic campaigns that could raise public awareness and, ultimately, reduce the impact on humans and animals involved in collisions.