Local and Rural Road Safety Briefing Sheets - Behavioral Safety Strategies for Drivers on Rural Roads

NHTSA · 2014 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety

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Summary

This briefing sheet addresses the disproportionately high fatality rates on rural roads in the United States, motivated by 2012 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data indicating that the rural fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled was 2.4 times higher than in urban areas. Despite comprising only 19 percent of the population, rural areas accounted for 54 percent of traffic fatalities. The document identifies specific risky driving behaviors contributing to these statistics, including low seatbelt usage, alcohol-impaired driving, speeding, and distracted or drowsy driving. For instance, rural areas accounted for 54 percent of fatal alcohol-related crashes, and 54 percent of rural passenger vehicle occupants killed were unrestrained, compared to 49 percent in urban areas. To mitigate these risks, the paper outlines behavior-based safety countermeasures derived from the resource *Countermeasures That Work*. Strategies to increase seatbelt usage include developing recognition programs for law enforcement, targeting pickup truck drivers with enforcement, conducting high-visibility initiatives like “Click It or Ticket,” and utilizing paid media campaigns and teen outreach. To reduce speeding and aggressive driving, the document recommends public information campaigns, educating judiciary and elected officials, and increasing enforcement. Strategies to reduce impaired driving involve implementing sobriety checkpoints, advocating for stronger legislation such as mandatory ignition interlocks, and creating targeted educational programs for specific age groups. Addressing distracted driving requires coordinated public outreach, reducing roadside distractions, and enforcing legislation that categorizes distracted driving as negligent. The paper emphasizes the importance of influencing traffic safety culture, defined as the social acceptance of specific behaviors within peer groups. It posits that shifting cultural norms regarding acceptable driving behavior can have a lasting impact on reducing risky actions. As evidence, the document cites the “Most of Us Wear Seatbelts” campaign in Montana, which utilized a social norms approach. Before the campaign, while 85 percent of respondents reported wearing seatbelts, they estimated that only 54 percent of typical adults did so. After one year of intensive media campaigns, perceptions of seatbelt use increased significantly, leading to corresponding increases in reported actual usage across various measures, including frequency of use and ensuring passengers wear belts. The significance of these findings lies in the potential for local and rural road owners to implement policies that shift public perceptions of acceptable driving behaviors. The document concludes that addressing risky behaviors requires joint efforts from law enforcement, engineering, school officials, and health professionals. While some strategies require local laws, others may necessitate state or federal action. Ultimately, the application of safety culture concepts offers a model for addressing driver behavioral challenges by targeting underlying social norms, with long-term commitment and clear messaging being critical for success.

Key finding

Strategies that target changes in underlying social norms and safety culture, such as the Montana seatbelt campaign, can effectively shift public perceptions and increase safe driving behaviors.

Methodology

review

Provenance

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Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• traffic safety culture
• public messaging
• seat belt use
• behavioral adaptation risk compensation
• perceptual countermeasures
• urban rural setting

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation, policy recommendations
• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence