MICHIGAN
Drive Safely Work Week Campaign

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Although the number of fatal highway incidents nationally was down about nine percent from the 1999 level, highway crashes continued to be the leading cause of on-the-job fatalities in 2000, nearly a quarter of the fatal work injury total. The economic cost of all traffic crashes in Michigan is estimated to be in excess of $9 billion.

The goals of the Drive Safely Work Week (DSWW) Campaign are to:

• Help employers emphasize the importance of driving safely on and off the job and eliminate preventable crashes to in the workforce; and

• Reduce the economic cost associated with traffic crashes.

The campaign implemented the following strategies and activities:

• Sent a mailing about the 2001 campaign to the Michigan Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS) membership of over 750 employers. Provided public relations (PR) kits to assist employers in promoting this initiative.    
• Contacted every health and safety coordinator in the Michigan state government regarding the campaign and the available PR kit.     
• Assisted state agencies with campaign marketing efforts by developing a specially designed campaign theme “Safe Driving is a Full-Time Job,” which appeared on 56,000 state employees’ paycheck stubs. The campaign theme along with additional safe driving information appeared on payroll stubs the week prior to the campaign start date.
• Partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and mailed a joint letter (USDOT & Michigan NETS) to 600 additional business partners regarding Drive Safely Work Week campaign and availability of PR kits.
• Sent a mailing to 26 Michigan Safe Community coalitions about the DSWW campaign and how the campaign could be used to promote safe driving in the communities.
• With the cooperation of the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Mackinaw Bridge Authority, used electronic reader boards that were located on major freeways in Southeastern Michigan and in the north to the Mackinaw Bridge to promote the campaign.
• Sent a story request about the DSWW campaign to many of the state’s trade publications, which reached over 39,000 businesses in Michigan.
• Mailed a press release to daily and weekly newspapers and TV stations throughout the state.

A total of 530 campaign kits were purchased from NETS to assist businesses and organizations in promoting the DSWW campaign. Nearly 20 percent of all the kits sold in the United States were purchased by Michigan employers, which were mostly paid for with corporate dollars. In spite of the tragedy our country experienced on September 11, 2001, the media coverage for the DSWW campaign was excellent. Five radio interviews kicked off the campaign coverage, followed by a subsequent television interview. Although coverage was limited due to other national, state and local priorities that took place during the campaign period, many articles still appeared in the newspaper and other publications.