This paper is a reply to Dr. Mendelsohn's study: "The dogmas of traffic safety: a content analysis of traffic safety messages appearing in the print of mass communications". Dr. Mendelsohn in this study admitted that many of the traffic accidents are due to man and his imperfections, but added: "Many factors beyond man enter into the picture. The one sure thing science knows about the causes and ultimate controls of traffic accidents is that there is much more to be learned than we know at the present time." In replying to Dr. Mendelsohn's claims, Kelley said "This kind of research conclusion carries the implicit warning that the highway safety information man must subject himself to change and growth in order to do his job properly, and in harmony with the predominantly scientific context in which highway safety work is being advanced today. It does not conclude that a need for highway safety information - and promotion or 'propaganda'- no longer exists; only that the need is not being adequately filled."
Abstract