Liverpool pilots text messaging to deliver road safety message

Liverpool City Council’s road safety team, led by Fred Pye, is trialling at groundbreaking scheme that utilises text messaging via mobile phones to deliver a drugs road safety message. The City Council believes this is the first time a local authority has used text messaging in this way.

The three-month pilot was launched in early November in the form of a competition to win a city break for two persons in Paris. Entrants text their postcode to a given number, which costs the sender 50p - a percentage of which is paid to the City Council, giving it a revenue stream from the project.

Liverpool City Council pledges to keep entrants’ mobile numbers confidential, but reserves the right to send them no more than 10 road safety text messages in the course of 12 months.

"SMS text messaging via mobile phones is a rapidly growing medium and one that appears to have almost limitless potential," said Fred Pye, the City Council’s principal road safety officer. "It is estimated that there are approximately 50,000 mobile phone users in Liverpool, the majority of whom can be reached with a text message."

Another benefit – in addition to the ability to communicate in an innovative manner - is the creation of a database of contacts, which will grow as the campaign develops.

"We received some very welcome funding from the NHS which enabled us buy into paid-for advertising from two age specific radio stations in the city to help promote the competition," Fred added. "Although the initiative has only been live for a short time the registrations are encouraging. If the pilot is successful the model could perhaps be rolled out to other authorities."

More information about the scheme can be obtained from Fred Pye, Fred.Pye@liverpool.gov.uk or from www.liverpool.gov.uk/citybreak