A public service announcement, or PSA, can be defined as, a type of advertising, sponsored by either government agencies or other organizations, to promote causes and activities generally considered socially desirable ( But instead of trying to break a habit of texting and driving, it forces young drivers to use their cellphones while the car is in motion. , advertising on the issue of road safety is particularly renowned for its use of physical threats in which drivers and passengers are often shown to be injured and killed as a result of unsafe and/or illegal behavior (p. 203). They note that not every individual responds to fearful messages in the same way; rather, responses to fear appeals depend on the perceptions people develop concerning the enormity of the pending danger and on their evaluations of its effect ( had a very large sample of 840 adolescents view two separate fear-based advertisements discouraging distracted driving behaviors. Moreover, even though drivers of any age could suffer consequences of driving distracted, there seems to be a greater propensity for younger drivers to engage in this behavior. 2.2. To receive email updates about this topic, enter your email address: We take your privacy seriously. U.S. Department of Transportation Releases Faces of Distracted Driving Public Service Announcement, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjmlv1rbGKE, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr7TfwtO17I, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdQDTmKY0vY, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPrZCCjrFLs, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKOiMSkLxY, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG79X-hYJ_E, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6iCrZ4AIpw, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcRTwKminbQ, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pHBWyUQxx4, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vB22cW1ZMY, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology. ). All the videos on this list so far have focused on the problem. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, six percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes are distracted at the time of the crashes. Lennon, Rentfro, & OLeary, 2010: p. 95 Get the Message is available for download on www.distraction.gov. The females reacted more favorably to the message and content in the announcement than did the males; furthermore, males believed that punitive measures by law enforcement, such as getting ticketed or arrested, were more useful means of preventing unsafe driving ( In line with past literature, a gender discrepancy did appear in responses to the PSA. Suddenly, the driver in front of them made an illegal left turn through a red light. Texting or emailing while driving was as common among students whose grades were mostly As or Bs as among students with mostly Cs, Ds, or Fs. Drivers of all ages will be able to learn about the dangers of texting and driving with the use of public service announcements. She was cited for inattentive driving and fined $173.40. more likely to drive after drinking alcohol. These individuals are more susceptible to media influence and are also more . In 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation released the, In 2021, Congress provided resources to add distracted driving awareness as part of drivers license exams as part of the. 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE found that the young men and women in their studys sample did not respond to the public service announcement they viewed in the same manner. Comprehensive GDL systems include five components. Most driving incidents comes from drivers being distracted. Many states have enacted laws to help prevent distracted driving. Parachute Canadas Is It Worth It? 10 CDC's GDL Planning Guide Lewis, Watson, Tay and White (2007) & Manchanda, 2003: p. 268, Lewis, Watson, Tay, & White, 2007: p. 213, Hastings, Stead, & Webb, 2004: pp. Fortunately, after some eye-opening training on a closed track, Josh comes to see firsthand just how risky it is to mentally multitask while driving. This video is from the National Safety Council as part of their efforts to fight distracted driving. Can You Shoot A Hawk If It Is Killing Your Chickens? These findings contradict those of previous research that have found strong evidence of students underestimating the effect PSAs have on themselves and overestimating the effects they have on generalized others. ValeneBummara,JinbongChoi, (2015) Exploring the Effectiveness of Distracted Driving PSA (Public Service Announcement). On average, eight people are killed and one thousand one hundred sixty one people are injured due to accidents involving distracted drivers, particularly due to texting. ). That is, people tend to perceive that the medias greatest impact will not be on me or you but on themthe third persons ( Distractions lead to disaster. Inform people, especially teenagers, on the fatal affects the victims and their families have received because of distracted driving. By making these modifications, the study results could be generalized to the larger population. Lennon, Rentfro, & OLeary, 2010 Therefore, organizations such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have tried to create persuasive campaigns to reach drivers and tackle this hazardous activity. Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. The majority of respondents (76.5%) responded that they had never seen the PSA before, which supported the researchers initial reasoning to select the particular PSA for the study. This lighthearted PSA doesnt need a graphic car crash to make its point. The truck driver was talking on his cell phone at the time of crash and said he never saw the bus. used a questionnaire instrument to measure the behavioral intentions of a sample of 152 drivers in Australia both before and after they viewed two different, threatening advertisements promoting road safety. Suddenly, the ad shocks the audience by showing each driver crash their vehicle as a result of their distraction. The goal of social marketing is to encourage changes in behavior that benefit the individual, community, and society at large ( Its estimated that 10% of drivers are distracted by cellphones at any given moment. She was killed when rescuers were unable to get her out of the burning wreckage. Texting behind the wheel makes you 23 times more likely to crash, and reduces your reaction time by 35% A public service announcement wouldn't effectively reduce the amount of distracted drivers. The Protection Motivation Theory, originally developed by Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. First, it employed a nonrandom, convenience sample. ; Data from the questionnaires was entered into and analyzed using the statistical software program, SPSS. The third research question sought to determine whether or not the third-person effect would occur within the sample of students. ). Por favor elige tu regin All Rights Reserved, National Sheriffs' Educational Foundation, Domestic Violence & Crime Victim Services, Inmate Health Care & Recidivism Task Force, National Law Enforcement Center on Animal Abuse, NSA Crisis Management & Communication Training, Occupant Protection/Child Passenger Safety. Can a PSA help reduce the number of distracted driving incidents argumentative essay? Graduated driver licensing (GDL) is a system which helps new drivers gain experience under low-risk conditions by granting driving privileges in stages. Cady was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries and died the next day. He drove into oncoming traffic, and their vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer. This issue presents a problem for social marketers because the advertisements they create are seemingly reached by primarily one gender instead of both. Lewis, Watson, Tay and White (2007) 2.3. Kelson died the next day. All students viewed the same PSA and were administered the same version of the questionnaire. The results of this study demonstrated that participants who viewed the self-efficacy PSAs were better able to discourage others from driving under the influence of alcohol than were the participants who viewed the consequence-based control PSA ( The majority of people said that safety and PSA messages are useful, with some saying that they are more effective than other media. To honor Alex's memory, her family Jeanne, Johnny Mac, and 12-year-old Katrina formed an anti-distracted driving advocacy group, the Remember Alex Brown Foundation. Accidents from distracted driving occur when the driver's attention is distracted by external factors such as picking calls, answering texts, or even taking a bite. Do not multitask while driving. Schoenbachler & Whittler, 1996 Lennon, Rentfro, & OLeary, 2010 ). Hastings, Stead, & Webb, 2004: p. 975 ; Australia's Traffic Accident Commission has developed a 45-second TV commercial to help drivers recognize just how far their car travels when they take their eyes off the road for a few moments. Currently, the main source of distracted driving is cell phones. They may have paused for a bit, but they have since resumed. Lewis, Watson, & Tay, 2007: pp. U Text. There are no cellphones and no one takes their eyes off the road. Since their son's death, Bob and Eilene Okerblom have become advocates against distracted driving, and Bob is currently biking cross-country to raise awareness. The researcher first wanted to know how many individuals in the sample had previously seen the PSA used in the present study. Efforts to stop people from texting while driving are not working, as shown by the numbers. Putting on makeup. For instance, Females agreed with the two intention measures more strongly than did males. A Public Service Announcement does have the ability to reduce the number of distracted driving incidents by bringing the population's attention to the issue. ; Many anti-distraction ads show cinematic, slow-motion car crashes to convey the danger of taking your eyes off the road. looked specifically at PSAs designed to discourage the use of illegal drugs by adolescents, their findings could help in the creation of various other social marketing campaigns. Among fatal crashes involving distracted drivers in the U.S. in 2019: A higher percentage of drivers ages 1520 were distracted than drivers age 21 and older. Lewis, Watson, Tay, & White, 2007 ; Brennan & Binney, 2010 Distracted driving is defined as, any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing ( How effective are PSAs? these results, it does seem as though the PSA evokes the sought after intentions in the sample. Distracted driving can increase the chance of a motor vehicle crash. These projects increased police enforcement of distracted driving laws and increased awareness of distracted driving using radio advertisements, news stories, and similar media. ). Course Number: Date: Can A PSA Help Reduce Distracted Driving Accidents? Lewis, Watson, & Tay, 2007 Another limitation described in prior research is that, although fear appeals seem to elicit viewers attention, their capacity to induce real behavioral change in individuals is debatable ( Let us show you how to connect the dots between human error reduction and fewer incidents, better engagement and stronger support for safety. Other types of distracted driving. Thus, the present study will restrict participants to both males and females between the ages of 18 and 24. In the United States, over 3,100 people were killed and about 424,000 were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2019. RQ 2: Do responses to the PSA differ according to gender? And, as Lennon, Rentfro and OLeary (2010) Again, there was a statistically significant relationship found between these variables (2 = 12.856, p = 0.012). Among these younger drivers, 9% of them were distracted at the time of the crash. ). The issue of distracted driving has been a popular topic in research and the subject of numerous campaigns and laws. Amos Johnson Asheville, North CarolinaWATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcRTwKminbQOn May 10, 2010, 16-year-old Ashley Johnson was killed when she lost control of her vehicle, crossed the center line, and hit a pickup truck head-on. Given the pervasiveness of handheld technology in our society, there has been growing concern about the risks involved with using such devices, specifically cell phones, while operating a vehicle. This means that over 78% of all distracted drivers are distracted because they have been texting while driving. Can a PSA help reduce the number of distracted driving incidents argumentative essay? Distracted driving is defined as, "any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving and increase the risk of crashing" ( NHTSA, 2011 ). , proposes that people will tend to overestimate the influence that mass communications have on the attitudes and behavior of others (p. 3). findings are limited in that his research was concerned with participants ability to change the behavior of others, as opposed to modifying their own behavior. In addition, freshman was 1%, sophomore was 22%, senior was 23%, and graduate student was 14%. Murry, Stam, & Lastovicka, 1996: p. 1 Whether its adjusting your mirrors, selecting music, eating, making a phone call, or reading a text or emaildo it before or after your trip, not during. The survey instrument also utilized items from a preexisting scale entitled the Affective Response (General) Scale ( ). campaign targets teenagers with an ad that compares places where you would text vs. places where you wouldnt. Judy Teater Spring Lake, MichiganWATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6iCrZ4AIpwOn January 19, 2004, Judy Teater and her 12-year-old son Joe were driving to an after school activity when a young woman behind the wheel of a Hummer and talking on her cell phone ran a red light and slammed into their vehicle. A commonly used strategy in social cause advertising seems to be appealing to fear. Brennan and Binney (2010) Intentions to engage in distracted driving were measured by asking students to rate their agreement or disagreement regarding the likelihood that they would text while driving and speak up when they were passengers with a driver who is texting. Lennon, Rentfro and OLeary (2010) From 2010 to 2013, NHTSA evaluated distracted driving HVE demonstration projects in four communities. In addition to providing great turns of phrase like stupid death by smartphone, it also offers a common-sense solution (with no handholding required). ; Lewis, Watson, Tay, & White, 2007: p. 213 1 out of 4 car crashes in the US is caused by texting while driving. In their review of numerous studies that have utilized fear appeals, The driver, an 18-year-old man, had picked up his phone to make a call and didn't see the light turn. One of the biggest distractions, texting and driving, has tried to be solved in many ways. Still, some positive benefits have been found to exist from using fear-based or shocking content within advertisements. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. A second significant positive correlation was found between the variables measuring students perception that PSAs help to prevent texting while driving and their reported likelihood of thinking of the PSA they had viewed when they drove from now on. Some studies have shown that even more graphic appeals, such. ). ). Distracted driving isnt just a stupid mistake. ). In his study, altered the original Protection Motivation Model in their study of college students responses to fear- provoking messages about sexually transmitted diseases. Get the facts, get involved, and help us keep America's roads safe. Several federal regulations target distractions for workers: NHTSA has issued voluntary guidelines to promote safety by discouraging the introduction of both. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Despite the popular use of fear appeals in social marketing, and especially in road safety advertising, inconsistent opinions remain regarding the effectiveness of this strategy ( ). With a major increase in distracted driving and the two million accidents associated with it, the government has tried to change behaviors with PSAs. Brennan & Binney, 2010 (2010). You can review and change the way we collect information below. Veuillez choisir votre rgion National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2011) The boomerang effect can be seen as an adverse reaction to viewing a threatening advertisement. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Finally, a main limitation was that reported intentions might not fully and accurately determine actual behavior in people. Anderson (1995) Related research on physical threat appeals has found that, when compared to other messages, adolescents react more positively to public service announcements that depict negative social consequences ( The researcher will analyze the survey data quantitatively to answer three research questions as follows: RQ 1: What is the impact of viewing an anti-distracted driving public service announcement on students perceptions and intent? ; But this hilarious distracted driving PSA presents a rather unorthodox solution. The questionnaire focused mainly on the behavior of texting while driving because, according to the Distracted Driving 3,142 Number of people killed by distracted driving in 2020 Source U Drive. I thank all of the families of distracted driving victims who have bravely chosen to share their stories of loss with the world, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Hastings, Stead, & Webb, 2004 Cell phone records indicate that the driver was texting just prior to the collision. CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. observe that a substantial body of literature spanning over five decades attests to contradictory findings regarding the manner in which fear is related to persuasion (p. 49). Is Parallel Parking On The Driving Test In Ny? Can A Psa Help Reduce The Number Of Distracted Driving Incidents Claim? Chaudhary, N.K., Casanova-Powell, T.D., Cosgrove, L., Reagan, I., & Williams, A. ). Crash reconstruction reports showed the driver could not have been looking at the road for 8.75 seconds. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. It shows the real-life impact of distracted driving on victimsand the effect is profound. 78.4% of respondents disagreed with the statement The PSA is too graphic. This result could be explained by the fact that the particular PSA shown did not utilize extreme gore as some fear-arousing advertisements do; it could also reflect the notion mentioned in the previous literature that adolescents today are more accustomed to frightening appeals in the media. Distracted Driving Summary Fact Sheet pdf icon[PDF 660 KB]. Studying the dataset in SPSS led to some conclusions about the sample. Learn how to drive distraction away and get drivers to keep their eyes (and mind) on the road. Judy Teater is a founding board member of FocusDriven, the first national nonprofit organization devoted specifically to raising awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. Lewis, Watson, Tay amd White (2007) Its a great visual example of how even a quick glance away from the road can lead to a potentially serious incident. The students in this sample reported that they did text while driving even though most students (44.1%) strongly disagreed that the PSA made texting while driving seemed more dangerous than it actually was. Distracted drivers arent just a threat to themselves: theyre a danger to everyone else on the road. A 30-second PSA against distracted driving from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration served as the independent variable. , while intentions are a good predictor of behavior, they are far from a perfect measure (p. 212). Hastings, Stead and Webb (2004) You can visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationexternal icon(NHTSA) website for more information on how data on motor vehicle crash deaths are collected and the limitations of distracted driving data. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. Remind them driving is a skill that requires the drivers full attention. In their experimental study, Johnny Mac & Jeanne Brown Wellman, TexasWATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDKOiMSkLxYOn November 10, 2009, 17-year-old Alex Brown was killed when she crashed her truck on a rural road while she was on her way to school. The 30-second PSA, Get the Message, features clips from people from across the country who lost loved ones in distracted driving crashes and have spoken out through the U.S. Department of Transportations Faces of Distracted Driving campaign. Although her father had warned her against cell phone use behind the wheel, she was texting at the time of the crash. Moreover, 42.2% of students somewhat agreed and 22.5% strongly agreed that they were more likely to speak up when they were passengers and a driver was texting. In conclusion, the present study adds to previous research on this topic by exploring three research questions and contributing useful information pertaining to Texas State University students perceptions and intentions after having viewed a fear-arousing PSA. Most students in the sample somewhat agreed that, after watching the PSA, they were less likely to text while driving and more likely to speak up when they were passengers; this finding suggests a degree of effectiveness from the fear appeal.