Effectiveness of a Media Campaign to Reduce

Abstract

This article describes the evaluation of a 4‐1/2‐month multimedia traffic‐safety campaign that targeted young drivers in northeastern Tennessee. Discussion groups with teenagers provided the basis for public‐service announcements (TV, radio, and billboard), which were developed specifically for this intervention. To determine the impact on crash frequencies among drivers 16–19 years old, baseline, intervention, and follow‐up crash data were obtained from statistics maintained by the state. A time‐series analysis of these data indicated that during the intervention period, there was a 21.6% decrease in crashes for which 16–19‐year‐old drivers were at fault, whereas a control location in southeastern Tennessee exhibited no significant change.