Road Safety Awareness Using Internet Meme Posts: The Role of Visual Design in Effective Communication

Road safety, a major cause of death and injury worldwide, is a public health and social development issue. Since 2023, Uttarakhand police have used an “Internet Meme Strategy” on social media to promote road safety. The study aims to evaluate the Uttarakhand police department’s “Safety on the Roads” campaign via its Facebook page, which uses internet meme posts and non-meme posts to raise awareness about road safety issues, including speeding, drink driving, and red light violations. The objectives were: establish how the Uttarakhand police department uses internet memes about road safety on its Facebook page to promote the “Safety on the Roads” campaign, how followers perceive memes visually and verbally, and how the insights from meme posts differ from non-meme posts. The study used a quantitative, descriptive-comparative design; a survey (assessed awareness, behaviour change, responsibility, and visual and verbal features) (n=384, aged 18-29 years: 59.6% male; 40.4% female). In addition, all internet posts were evaluated for visual and verbal characteristics by university-educated visual experts (n=5) affiliated with the faculties of arts and cultural studies at Indian universities. From January to December 2023, 25 road safety posts (i.e., 16 internet memes and 9 non-memes) were analysed. The independent variable was the type of content (internet meme posts vs. non-meme posts), while the dependent variables included perception (visual and verbal characteristics), exposure, and engagement. A series of independent sample t-test found that internet meme posts had significantly higher reach, impressions, and engagement compared to non-meme posts (p<.05). Internet meme posts, particularly posts that use humour and are widely shared, can be powerful communication tools because they are concise, relatable and may contribute to reducing both reported and unreported crashes.