Bridging Cultures for Safer Roads: Bi-lingual Pedestrian Safety Education for CALD Communities

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users, having the least protection in the event of a vehicle–pedestrian crash. Pedestrian deaths and serious injuries remain major road safety challenges in Australia. Notably, pedestrians account for 13 per cent of all road fatalities, despite travelling shorter distances than other road users. While numerous initiatives have aimed to reduce the national road toll, most have focused on the broader Australian population, with limited attention to the specific needs of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, including tailored road safety education materials.

Evidence shows that members of CALD communities face a higher risk of crashes in their new country. In response, this project has developed and is now disseminating bilingual pedestrian safety education materials—such as posters and videos—tailored for CALD communities. The Chinese and Nepalese communities are the current focus, selected as case studies due to their size and significance within Australia’s multicultural population. The project is being delivered in partnership with the Chinese Community Council of Australia - Victoria Chapter (CCCAV) and Australia Nepal Public Link (ANPL – Victoria & NSW chapters).

Using a co-design approach, the project has conducted focus group discussions and public forums to create culturally relevant, theory-driven materials that promote safe pedestrian behaviour. Further, an online survey was conducted to assess user perceptions, the materials’ effectiveness, and their influence on attitudes and behavioural intentions.

Feedback on the educational materials from participants from both public forums and online surveys was positive. Participants consistently described the bilingual videos and posters as engaging, relevant, and easy to understand. Many participants commented that the materials were especially useful for newly arrived migrants and elderly community members, who may find navigating Australian road environments challenging. Additionally, some participants expressed interest in expanding similar initiatives to other areas of road safety, such as driver education and training, indicating broader demand for culturally appropriate road safety programs within the community.

The educational materials have been made publicly accessible through dedicated webpages hosted by our community project partners, CCCAV and ANPL, and are actively promoted through their established community networks and social media platforms. In addition, the resources are hosted on an RMIT University project webpage and video-sharing platforms, ensuring broad and sustained access.

Developed using evidence-based behavioural change frameworks and informed by community engagement, these bilingual resources are designed to improve awareness, understanding, and everyday pedestrian safety practices among Chinese and Nepalese communities. By addressing language barriers and culturally specific road safety challenges, the materials support safer decision-making and contribute to the reduction of pedestrian risk.

Beyond their immediate impact, the project provides a transferable, scalable model for culturally responsive road safety education. The approach, partnerships, and evaluation framework established through this initiative can be readily adapted to meet the needs of other culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities across Australia, supporting more equitable and inclusive road safety outcomes nationwide.