3.2 Communications and Outreach Strategies for Low Belt Use Groups
* For stand-alone programs not supporting enforcement With belt use at 80 percent nationally and 70 percent or higher in 42 States, the large majority of drivers and passengers use their belts on every trip. The challenge is to reach the minority who still do not buckle up regularly. Observations and telephone surveys show who these nonusers are. NHTSA's 2003 national observation survey found lower use for males (77%) than females (81%), lower use for drivers age 16 to 24 (75%) than those 25 to 69 (80%), lower use for rural drivers (74%) compared to urban (79%) and suburban (84%) drivers (all data from Glassbrenner, 2004a, Table 5), and lower use for passengers (77%) than for drivers (80%) (Glassbrenner, 2003, Table 1). Belt use is lower for pickup truck drivers (69%) than passenger car drivers (81%) (Glassbrenner, 2003, Table 1). NHTSA's 2003 national telephone survey found the same patterns, with males, young drivers, rural drivers, pickup truck drivers, and passengers reporting lower belt use (Boyle and Vanderwolf, 2003, p. iv). In the telephone survey, no ethnic or racial group reported substantially lower than average belt use (Boyle and Vanderwolf, 2003, p. 16). Most nonusers do wear belts some of the time, or at least say they do. In NHTSA's 2003 national telephone survey, only 2 percent of drivers and front-seat passengers said they never used their belts and another 2 percent said they rarely used them (Boyle and Vanderwolf, 2003, pp. 11, 39). Back-seat passengers are more frequently unbelted: 13 percent said they never use belts and another 8 percent said they rarely use them, while only 53 percent reported wearing belts all the time (Boyle and Vanderwolf, 2003, p. 41). The most frequent reasons given for not wearing a belt were forgetting to buckle up (55% of drivers and 44% of passengers), only driving a short distance (56% and 34%), in a hurry (40% and 31%), and uncomfortable belts (32% and 30%) (Boyle and Vanderwolf, 2003, p. 81). In the 1960s and 1970s, during the period of low belt use before belt use laws were enacted, communications and outreach campaigns did not increase belt use (ACTS, 2001, Appendix A). More recently, many communications efforts that do not carry an enforcement message have been used in attempts to raise the belt use of low-belt-use groups but few have been evaluated. High-visibility enforcement programs generally have been effective in increasing belt use among these lower-use groups (see Chapter 2, Section 2.1; Shults et al., 2004). Their publicity messages and placement can be directed at specific lower-belt-use groups. Two 2001 programs successfully targeted pickup trucks as part of high-visibility safety belt enforcement activities. The "Pick Up the Buckle, Each Time, Every Time" campaign in South Dakota increased belt use in pickup trucks from 33 percent to 49 percent and the "When you get in a truck, you'd better buckle up" campaign in Florida increased use from 47 percent to 68 percent (NHTSA, 2005a). North Dakota 's "Pick Up the Habit for Someone You Love" campaign in 2003 provides the best-documented example of a successful nonenforcement communications and outreach program. It was directed at male pickup drivers, whose pre-program belt use was 20 percentage points lower than the statewide 63 percent rate. A survey of these drivers identified effective message goals ( choose and remember to buckle up); message strategies (motivation through loved ones, sometimes using humor); and message placement (combining paid and earned radio and television, posters, and public relations events). The program increased observed belt use of male pickup drivers by 7 percentage points at a total cost of $295,000 (North Dakota DOT, 2004). The 5 States of NHTSA's South Central Region conducted a two-week "Buckle Up in Your Truck" paid advertising campaign immediately before their May 2004 Click It or Ticket campaign. The truck campaign's message complemented the Click It or Ticket message by focusing on the dangers of riding unrestrained in a truck and stressing the usefulness of belts in rollover crashes. The campaign spent nearly $600,000 for paid advertising in the 5 States. Surveys at the end of the campaign, before any enforcement-based Click It or Ticke t publicity, showed that belt use increased in pickup trucks by about 2 percentage points. Belt use in pickup trucks increased by another 6 percentage points after the Click It or Ticket publicity (Solomon and Chaffe, in review, Chapter IV). The campaign will continue to be conducted and evaluated in 2005 and 2006. In a follow-up study, an intensive campaign using the same "Buckle Up in Your Truck" message was conducted in Amarillo , Texas , in November 2004. Belt use in pickup trucks increased by 12 percentage points in Amarillo , and belt use in cars increased by 8 percentage points. At the same time, belt use in a comparison community increased by 5 percentage points for pickup truck occupants and by 4 percentage points for car occupants. Another follow-up study is planned for 2005 (Solomon and Chafee, in review, Chapter IV). Use: Communications and outreach campaigns directed at low-belt-use groups probably are quite common, but no summary is available. Effectiveness: Uncertain. The North Dakota and Amarillo campaigns are the only well-documented and successful examples. They used all the characteristics of effective communications and outreach campaigns: good target audience research, effective and creative message development, and good message placement using both paid and earned media. The overall South Central Region campaign produced only modest gains. Costs: As with enforcement-related communications and outreach, costs vary depending on program quality and delivery. Paid advertising can be expensive. Time to implement: A good media campaign will require four to six months to plan and implement. |
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