M.Ing. (Transportation Engineering) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Data on safety belt use were collected at two swimming pools over three consecutive summers. The impact of several variables upon safety belt use was examined. First, an Intervention Program (IP) was designed, comprised of Promotional, Reward, and Feedback components. Second, an Awareness/Education (AE) strategy was introduced to children enrolled in swim lessons. Third, belt use was examined before and after a mandatory safety belt use law (BUL) was enacted in Virginia. The moderating effects of the BUL were studied by implementing both the IP and the AE interventions during the pre- and post-BUL environments. Finally, some aspects of a behavioral prompt (i.e., a "Personal" vs. an "Impersonal" delivery method), and their relationship to safety belt use were examined. Major findings include, those individuals most influenced by the IP in the pre-BUL environment were those same individuals who were influenced by the BUL. Thus, while the IF did have an impact upon mean safety belt use levels in the post-BUL context, belt use increases over Baseline were not as dramatic as those observed in the pre-BUL environment. / Master of Science

A large scale intervention program conducted by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to increase safety belt use in eight communities (cities, towns, and counties) throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia was evaluated. The police or sheriff's department in each community conducted either one, two, or three repeated applications (waves) of public information/education programs. Each target community was matched with a non-treatment control community with a similar population. The overall project was very successful. The mean percent safety belt use for the eight target communities began at 52%, and significantly increased to 73% by the end of the project. The mean percent safety belt use for the eight control communities also began at 52%, and dropped insignificantly to 48% by the end of the project. To extend previous work on the relationship between intervention agents and intervention effectiveness, it was hypothesized that there would be a positive relationship between mean percent safety belt use increase and the agent-to-target ratios (the proportion of police officers or deputies participating in the program per number of citizens in the community), citation-to-target ratios (the proportion of citations or written warnings given during the program per number of citizens in the community), and promotional gimmick-to-target ratios (the proportion of promotional gimmicks given during the program per number of citizens in the community). Each of these ratios were significantly correlated with the percent safety belt use increase for the eight target communities. The terminal model for a stepwise regression procedure, which included the agent-to-target and citation-to-target ratios, yielded an R² of .83. A plan for institutionalizing safety belt programs that would reduce many of the problems associated with motivating large scale safety belt use is suggested, as well as suggestions for future research. / Master of Science

The theory of risk compensation predicts that when individuals increase the practice of a safe behavior, they will also increase the practice of an unsafe behavior in order to maintain the same level of overall risk. In contrast, response generalization predicts that an increase in safe behavior will increase other safe behaviors in the same response class. The present study examined the effects of community-based feedback on the safety belt use of drivers in a small community in Southwest Virginia, while drivers on an intersecting highway served as a control group. An AB design was used to test the effects of the feedback on belt use. Turn signal use and right and left hand turn behaviors were also measured to study risk compensation vs. response generalization. Baseline measures were taken for 13 weeks at which point two feedback signs were erected in the community for the remaining 17 weeks of the study. The words "SAFETY BELT USE IN NEWPORT LAST WEEK" with the percentages of male and female driver safety belt use the previous week appeared on the signs. Feedback increased the safety belt use average in the community by 15.5 percentage points for males, and 9.7 percentage points for females over a 17 week period. Evidence for response generalization was shown by a 14.9 percentage point increase in turn signal use over the 17 weeks of the feedback intervention. / Master of Science

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1985.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1985. / Also available in print.

Safety belt reminder systems are ubiquitously present in most, if not alI automobiles sold in the United States. Past research has found that the effectiveness of these reminder systems have shown minimal social benefit in the effort to increase safety belt use. The current investigation was conducted to determine if modified reminder systems could improve safety belt use. This research used an electronically equipped research vehicle sponsored by General Motors Corporation. The vehicle's research equipment allowed for the manipulation of different auditory reminder stimuli (i.e., chime, buzzer, and voice), temporal factors (e.g., presentation delays and second reminders) I and the measurement of the driver's safety belt use. Three modifications were explored: the presentation of a Delayed Reminder, Second Reminder, and comparisons of different auditory stimuli. The vehicle also permitted a single subject repeated measure design and methodology that provided process analysis. The results showed that the Delayed Reminder appeared ineffective at increasing belt use, whereas the Second Reminder was found to increase two out of nine subjects' safety belt response rates. The differential effects between the three auditory stimuli (i.e., Chime, Buzzer, & Voice) were inconclusive, though for two subjects the Buzzer and Voice were associated with safety belt increases. / Master of Science

M.S.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Where can state, local and federal government officials concentrate their resources in order to reduce the highway fatality rate? A highway fatality model was developed to determine which factor has the greatest positive or negative impact on the highway fatality rate. A cross-section of data from states for 1984 and 1985 was collected for the following variables: average speed, speed variance, percentage of drivers wearing seat belts, percentage of licensed male drivers, percentage of drivers under 25 years of age, drinking age for beer, per capita alcohol consumption, percentage of urban population, and percentage of urban roads. The highway fatality equation was estimated via an iterative approach using ordinary least squares. The variables testing significant include: average speed, speed variance, drinking age for beer, percentage of drivers under 25 years of age, and percentage of urban roads. When translating the results into a policy action, it was determined that keeping the speed limit at 55 MPH on rural interstates would prevent the greatest number of traffic fatalities. Other policy actions considered in order of their impact on highway fatalities include: more stringent enforcement of the 55 MPH speed limit, restricting teenage night-time driving, raising the driving age to 17 years of age, and raising the drinking age for beer to 21 in the seven remaining states. / M.A.