Mountain Safety Council’s tramping safety video series has been hailed as a success, following an independent review.

The videos promote safety across 12 popular tracks that are prone to accidents, injuries and fatalities, including the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Cascade Saddle and Milford Track.

Since their release in October 2018, the videos have been viewed nearly 500,000 times across social media platforms.

Their influence on tramper behaviour was measured in a survey of 924 participants, around half of whom were shown a safety video a week before tramping. 

Findings by Research NZ revealed that 76 per cent of participants who watched the video would make changes to their plans as a result, including checking weather, speaking to DOC staff and researching track hazards.

Ninety-five per cent of participants said they learned something new, and 82 per cent claimed to have increased knowledge of track hazards.

The series was given a Net Promoter Score of 43, meaning its audience is extremely likely to promote the videos to others.

Research NZ director Emanuel Kalafatelis said the results show the series has had a “significant positive impact” on tramper safety-related behaviour.

“In my 35 plus years’ experience, I have never seen behavioural results as strong as these that can be attributed to one single initiative,” he said.

MSC CEO Mike Daisley planned to expand the video series in the near future. 

“We knew the videos were hugely popular and feedback from those watching them was overwhelmingly positive, but to see the independent research findings confirm such significant behaviour change was the icing on the cake,” he said.