Consistent with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) objectives, the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) and Office of Criminal Justice-Traffic Safety (OCJS-TS) goals for the 2011 Statewide Seat Belt Use and Alcohol-Impaired Driving Campaigns were to increase seat belt use and reduce alcohol-impaired driving, thereby reducing highway fatalities and serious injuries throughout Ohio. The following evaluation was completed to determine the impact of the 2011 Paid Media, Earned Media, and Enforcement Initiatives on attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours of Ohio drivers regarding these key issues. In addition, the survey included questions on distracted driving (e.g., cell phone use and texting), speeding, and other driving behaviours. A series of four telephone surveys were conducted with 3,857 respondents to determine how and when the statewide interventions impacted the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviour regarding seat belt use and alcohol-impaired driving. Those four surveys were completed between April, 2011, and early September, 2011, as follows: Survey 1: The initial survey of 848 drivers was conducted beginning in mid-April, prior to the beginning of the 2011 “Click It or Ticket” campaign, and was used to establish baseline data on key seat belt use and alcohol-impaired driving issues. Survey 2: The second survey of 978 drivers was conducted in early June during the conclusion of the seat belt Earned Media and Enforcement initiatives. Also, the TV and Radio Paid Media initiatives had been completed. Survey 3: The third survey of 1,025 drivers was completed between late July and early August, prior to the beginning of the 2011 “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Earned Media and Enforcement initiatives. Survey 4: The fourth survey of 1,006 drivers from early- through mid-September, began during the last week of the Earned Media activities. The remainder of this evaluation report focuses on Ohio’s initiatives to increase seat belt use and reduce alcohol-impaired driving. (Author/publisher)
Abstract