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Traffic Safety Digest - Spring 2001 


Traffic Safety Digest - Spring 2001 

TEXAS
On the Road in Texas

 

PROJECT CHARACTERISTICS PROGRAM AREA(S)
  Targets hard-to-reach/at risk population
Increased media visibility
  Other Traffic Safety Areas
Diversity
       
TYPE OF JURISDICTION    
  State    
       
TARGETED POPULATION(S) JURISDICTION SIZE
  General Population
Hispanics
  20,851,820


PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In 1999, motor vehicle crashes claimed the lives of 3,519 people in Texas, and injured an additional 339,448. According to data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 49 percent of these crash fatalities were alcohol-related, and 40.9 percent of those fatally injured were not wearing safety belts. Texas has a large, diverse and widely distributed population, which includes 14 million licensed drivers in 254 counties. As a result, disseminating traffic safety messages to motorists statewide is especially challenging.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
To increase public awareness and understanding of traffic safety problems throughout the state, the Traffic Safety Section of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) created the Driver Education and Behavior (DE&B) program. The DE&B program seeks to alter the behavior of drivers and passengers, by eliminating patterns and activities that contribute to traffic crashes and the resulting deaths and injuries. Program objectives are to:

  • Increase public knowledge of traffic safety issues and Texas laws
  • Emphasize the cost to society of vehicle traffic crashes
  • Achieve a minimum of 20 percent program recall by the general public


STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The DE&B program is the most challenging aspect of TxDOT's overall traffic safety strategy, utilizing moral persuasion to reach the full spectrum of Texas drivers, from the youngest to the oldest. A variety of messages and media forms are used to convince motorists and passengers to change their attitudes and behaviors.

One element of the DE&B program's comprehensive efforts in traffic safety is the On the Road in Texas campaign, created in 2000. This effort focuses specifically on the use of radio messages, to reach a diverse portion of the population. The DE&B program uses this unique approach to serve Texas communities with vital life-saving messages in an entertaining and informative way.

On the Road in Texas is a series of radio public service announcements (PSAs), developed by TxDOT in cooperation with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Veteran announcers, DPS troopers and subject experts address both seasonal and general traffic safety topics each month. The series produces twelve PSAs per month in English, and six per month in Spanish. Among the issues addressed by the PSAs are seat belt and child safety seat use, impaired driving, speeding, road conditions, cellular phone use and drowsy driving.


RESULTS
Currently, the On the Road in Texas campaign is carried by more than 100 English language, and 20 Spanish language radio stations in 75 media markets throughout Texas. An estimated five million listeners per week are reached by the PSA series. Each month, an average of two additional English language and one Spanish language stations are added to the market served by On the Road in Texas.

 

FUNDING
  Section 402: $196,000
CONTACT  
 

Bill Strawn, Planner
Texas Department of Transportation
125 E. 11th Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 416-2613



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SPRING 2001 .
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