Employer-based programs to motivate safety belt use: A review of short-term and long-term effects

Abstract

This article reviews the procedures and results of 28 different programs at nine work settings that increased employees' use of vehicle safety belts from a minimum gain of 12% over baseline to a maximum gain of 285% . A total of 244,543 vehicle observations were made to assess shoulder belt use before. during, and after the various programs. Several program evaluations included follow-up observations from 6 months to 18 months after the safety belt campaign ended. Four basic types of employee programs were compared with regard to both immediate and long-term impact: (a) direct and immediate rewards, (b) direct and delayed rewards, (c) indirect and delayed rewards, and (d) awareness/commitment strategies that involved no extrinsic rewards. Each program was practical for its particular location and substantially increased the use of safety belts by targeted employees. Safety belt use declined markedly when the programs were terminated, but postprogram levels rarely got as low as preprogram baseline. Consistent with theories of intrinsic motivation and minimal justification, the amount of residual impact was greater for those programs that did not involve extrinsic rewards. Five conclusions are particularly important and provocative: (a) Safety belt use at corporations and institutions can be prominently increased by practical cost-effective procedures; (b) significant residual effects of safety belt promotion remain long after program termination; (c) gains in safety belt use can be increased with intermittent programs; (d) further research is needed to determine optimal scheduling of various program strategies for response maintenance and generalization; and (e) the advantages and disadvantages of using extrinsic rewards compared to no rewards for safety belt promotion require additional study.