Alliance member ACTIVVAS has established an innovative channel to spread the word on road safety throughout Argentina. In March 2015, ACTIVVAS launched a public radio show, titled “S.O.S. Human Factor,” which airs for an hour once per week throughout the country. The title of the radio show comes from the fact that, according to ACTIVVAS, 90 percent of road traffic crashes in Argentina are a result of human behavior, and can be prevented.
“To improve road safety, people need to be well aware of this issue and informed,” stated ACTIVVAS. “We believe that most crashes can be prevented and avoided, and we seek to educate citizens about the reality of the issue in Argentina.”
On the radio show, ACTIVVAS hosts a variety of discussions and interviews with national experts in road safety as well as people whose lives have been affected by a road traffic crash. In past airings, ACTIVVAS has interviewed health workers and physicians from national hospitals to discuss rates of trauma victims, Senators and other government officials to discuss policy changes and national efforts to improve road safety, as well as road crash victims and their families to discuss the causes and consequences of real crash cases in Argentina. They have also invited other NGOs from Argentina and Latin America working in road safety onto the show to share their own, local initiatives.
The radio show is estimated to reach hundreds of thousands of citizens throughout the country each week. The show aires on a major radio station in Buenos Aires, the capital, and its 53 satellite stations nationwide. The show is also broadcasted online.
ACTIVVAS acknowledged that securing popularity and listeners was initially a challenge. However, the show’s focus on real life crash cases and feature interviews with national experts and policymakers has secured the show’s continuation. The major station currently broadcasting the show has agreed to continue the show’s weekly airings in 2016.
In 2016, ACTIVVAS plans on partnering with local schools to incorporate children and teen voices onto the show, and allow them to generate their own road safety messages. The initiative will include workshops for the students to develop their messaging and radio interview skills. ACTIVVAS hopes to incorporate four schools in 2016, and then expand its partnership with additional schools in 2017.
For more information about ACTIVVAS and the S.O.S. Human Factor radio show, visit www.activvas.org.
