MASS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS AND DRIVER BEHAVIOR

PRIOR RESEARCH IN THE AREA OF PUBLICLY FUNDED MASS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS TELLS US LITTLE ABOUT ITS EFFECTIVENESS; NONE RELATE COST TO EFFECTIVENESS IN A CONSISTENT, ORGANIZED MANNER. THERE HAVE BEEN RELATIVELY FEW STUDIES DIRECTED TO ATTITUDINAL SHIFTS, AND PUBLISHED RESEARCH FINDINGS ARE BY NO MEANS CONSISTENT. A HANDFUL OF STUDIES HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TO THE MEASUREMENT OF BEHAVIORAL SHIFTS IN THE HIGHWAY SAFETY AREA, BUT THE RESEARCH DESIGNS HAVE BEEN INADEQUATE FOR THE MOST PART, AND THE RESULTS ARE INCONCLUSIVE. ALTHOUGH EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, IT IS POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP A PROCEDURE FOR EVALUATING ALTERNATIVE "TACTICS", I.E., ALTERNATIVE MASS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAMS. A FIELD EXPERIMENT TO THIS END IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY. PRINCIPAL FEATURES INCLUDE A "REAL WORLD" OPERATING ENVIRONMENT (THREE MATCHED, MEDIUM SIZED CALIFORNIA COMMUNITIES), USE OF THE BROADCAST MEDIA (RADIO AND TV), A CAMPAIGN DIRECTED TO A SPECIFIC MEASURABLE TYPE OF DRIVER BEHAVIOR (SAFETY BELT USAGE), AND CAREFUL MEASUREMENT OF ATTITUDINAL AS WELL AS BEHAVIORAL SHIFTS. RESULTS OF THESE SELECTED EXPERIMENTS CAN BE USED AS STANDARD DATA BY FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES WHEN COMPARING THE RELATIVE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF ALTERNATIVE MASS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS TO OTHER HIGHWAY SAFETY RELATED COUNTERMEASURES. /AUTHOR/

• Corporate Authors:

  Intl Symp Psy Aspect Dr Behavior /Neth

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Fleischer, G A
• Publication Date: 1971

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 17 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Communications; Cost effectiveness; Driver improvement programs; Mass media; State of the art studies
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver improvement effort
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00223920
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 17 1973 12:00AM