2 - PROGRAM SELECTION

To identify eligible programs, project staff consulted the following sources:

• NHTSA headquarters -- in particular, information about programs on 21- to 34-year-olds reported by the States as part of their grant applications for 1999
  
  
• NHTSA Office of State and Community Services⁴, and regional staff
  
  
• Highway safety representatives for each State
  
  
• National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD)
  
  
• Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
  
  
• Network of Employers for Highway Safety (NETS)
  
  
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving -- national headquarters as well as State chapters
  
  
• The Century Council

The most important selection criteria were the following:

• The program should be targeted at 21- to 34-year-old drivers to reduce their drinking and driving behavior.
  
  
• The program’s scope and objectives, funding, and administrative staff should already be in place, and we must be reasonably certain that the program will continue to operate throughout the duration of the study, and hopefully beyond.
  
  
• The program should have reasonably good records of its operations, including a well-defined program plan and schedule, distribution plans, demographics of the target group, cost of producing the material, and media schedules.
  
  
• The program administrators must be willing to participate in an evaluation of their program and to share information.

Using these criteria, five candidate programs were identified, as follows:

• Pueblo, Colorado – Smart Roads
• Wisconsin – Community-Based Program
• Pennsylvania - Please Step Away from Your Vehicle
• New Mexico – Safety First Initiative
• Montana – The Most of Us

OVERVIEW OF CANDIDATE PROGRAMS

“Smart Roads" Program in Pueblo, Colorado
This program is being funded through a renewable three-year grant provided by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). A local controlled-substance-abuse prevention and treatment center based in Pueblo, Crossroads Managed Care Systems, Inc., is charged with administering the program. CDOT’s interest in funding this initiative in Pueblo resulted in part from a comprehensive research study conducted by BBC Research and Consulting⁵. The study revealed that the city of Pueblo ranked number one in drunk driving arrests per capita among Colorado cities, and that males between the ages of 21 to 34 comprised 34 percent of all DUI arrests.

The program involves three major components:

• a targeted media campaign
  
  
• a workplace initiative
  
  
• community involvement encompassing a broad range of organizations

This program was ultimately selected for our evaluation and is described in detail later in the following chapter.

Community-Based Program in Wisconsin
As of December 2000, the Wisconsin Office of Transportation Safety was planning a comprehensive anti-impaired driving campaign targeting 21- to 34-year-old males, which was scheduled for implementation in 2001. Reportedly, this program would go beyond public information and education. The University of Wisconsin’s business school had been retained to explore possible program components. Development of specific messages would be accomplished at some point in the spring of 2001. Additional efforts centered on compiling a “toolbox” from which communities and agencies could select ideas and, eventually, messages most suited for their geographic and demographic compositions. Community and business partners were actively being sought to support the program and to supplement program costs.

Examples of tools that might be included in the toolbox included alternative transportation methods, as well as awards for establishments promoting responsible behavior such as designated drivers or ride service programs. The toolbox would provide not only ideas but also implementation assistance and “how to” advice. Also, plans were being made to provide employers statewide with access to a database that would flag individuals who have been convicted of impaired driving (considered public records in Wisconsin).

Evaluation of any program effects would be a key component of the program with a number of communities serving as test and control sites. Proposed sites would be determined, at least partially, through Geographic Information System/Global Positioning System (GIS/GPS) tracking of crash locations, drinking establishments, and law enforcement efforts.

“Please Step Away from Your Vehicle” in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PA DOT) conducted focus groups among 21- to 34-year-olds to ascertain the type of messages that were likely to be most effective when attempting to change their drinking and driving behavior. When the focus groups were conducted back in 1985, it was found that the target population’s greatest fear was the harm they could inflict on a loved one who was traveling in the passenger’s seat. Media messages were tailored to emphasize this.

In 1999, a new round of focus groups concluded that the emphasis had changed, and young adults were more concerned about being apprehended, as well as the legal consequences and monetary expense involved in a DUI arrest. The new campaign, called “Please Step Away from Your Vehicle,” consisted mainly of a series of posters sent to the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) throughout the State. The department asked the LEAs to strategically place the posters in areas such as construction sites, where there might be a predominance of the target group. However, PA DOT had not really monitored or followed up with the LEAs as to when and where the posters were used. A survey to evaluate campaign awareness and effectiveness was planned for 2001.

“Safety First" Initiative in New Mexico
One program mentioned on more than one occasion by the NCADD and NETS is that of Jaynes Corporation, a construction company based in New Mexico. Their “Safety First” initiative for employees includes the following components:

• employment pre-screening for crashes, speeding tickets, DUI, and other moving violations
  
  
• driver education for all drivers
  
  
• company-led crash investigations and follow-up
  
  
• incentives and rewards for good driving as measured by no crashes or citations

The National Associated General Contractors of America recognized Jaynes Corporation for having the industry’s best safety record in the nation. The program has been running and recording data for over a decade, and seems likely to continue in the near future.

Although the Jaynes Corporation program is quite innovative, the objective of the program is not specifically to reduce drinking and driving behavior among 21- to 34-year-olds. All employees receive training on workplace safety issues, but only a fraction of the company’s employees are authorized to drive the company’s vehicles, and it is they who receive more comprehensive education, screening, and monitoring for DUI. Moreover, many of their drivers tend to be more experienced employees above the age of 35. Finally, the company has not implemented any program components to influence employees’ drinking and driving behavior after they leave the workplace (though one would hope the anti-DUI education received in the workplace is internalized by some employees and would have an effect on their attitudes and behavior outside of work as well).

The “Most of Us” Program in Montana
Most States have programs aimed at the college/university population, which often includes a considerable number of students over the age of 21. Colleges and universities are also increasingly participating in coalitions with their local towns or communities.

“Most of Us” is a public health issues campaign in Montana, where one of the goals is to reduce alcohol-related crashes among young adults age 18 to 25. Other issues include tobacco use prevention among youth age 12 to 17, and promoting parent-child communication.

The Montana State University (MSU) Social Norms Project coordinates the program. All messages are being developed in accordance with the principles of the seven-step Montana Social Norms Marketing Model developed by a professor at MSU. The idea is to send positive media messages rather than negative ones. Rather than using messages such as “One in every five college students has engaged in binge drinking,” the program advocates the use of messages such as: “81 percent of Montana young adults drink four or less drinks when they drink at parties, if they drink at all.” The goal is to change the general perception that most young people drink heavily, and therefore, that if you are a young person and you want to “belong,” you also have to drink heavily. On the contrary, since most young people report they drink moderately or do not drink at all, you can “fit in” with your peer group if you do the same. Heavy drinkers are not the norm, they are the minority. This is a public information and education campaign, with media material sent to local television stations in the target communities.

SELECTED PROGRAM

In 1999, 27 States submitted information to NHTSA concerning their efforts to address impaired driving among 21- to 34-year-olds. Project staff reviewed the materials submitted by the States, and subsequently called the respective highway safety representatives to discuss their programs.

Programs were deemed unsuitable for the present study based on the following three reasons: (1) the program was still in the early stages of development – thus, objectives, funding sources, and targeted strategies were still being determined; (2) the program was integrated with college-based initiatives that also aimed to reach underage drivers; (3) the program was part of a statewide PI&E campaign where it was difficult to distinguish specific messages targeting 21- to 34-year-olds, from those directed at the driving population in its entirety.

The Smart Roads program in Pueblo was selected for four main reasons. First, unlike many other impaired-driving programs driven by State government agencies or law enforcement, Smart Roads is the only program we identified with key participation from a community-based treatment provider. Crossroads Managed Care Systems is in fact the lead organization charged with administration of the Smart Roads program. Crossroads works closely with other members of the city’s Drive Smart Coalition, a group that includes representatives from the University of Southern Colorado and local law enforcement agencies, among others. The program is a true community-wide effort, with cooperation from local beer distributors, taxi operators, and liquor store owners. Although the CDOT is funding the Smart Roads program, the department has given considerable autonomy to Crossroads and the Coalition in administering the program, in recognition that they may have a better understanding of what works best in their community.

Second, ongoing research plays an important part in this program. As mentioned above, the CDOT grant to Pueblo was motivated in part as the result of a comprehensive research study conducted by BBC Research and Consulting. BBC was also retained by CDOT to conduct telephone surveys and focus groups to study the target population’s demographic characteristics and self-reported attitudes and behaviors concerning drinking and driving. Smart Roads is one of the few programs identified by project staff that possesses such a wealth of information on their target population, and uses this information for the strategic planning of their activities. For example, Smart Road’s public in-formation and education (PI&E) campaign, “DUI: The $8,866 Hangover,” was based on focus group research with male Pueblo drivers in the target age group, which revealed that the cost, hassles, and embarrassment drivers face if they get a DUI are the most compelling reasons for this population to drink in moderation.

Third, we found that most State programs targeted at 21- to 34-year-olds have focused almost exclusively on PI&E campaigns. Although the largest component of their pro-gram to date has been the “DUI: The $8,866 Hangover” campaign, Smart Roads has been working hard to promote an employer-based initiative, “Buzzing & Tooling Down the Road.” This alcohol-awareness training program was specifically designed for delivery at the workplace, to an audience comprised mostly of male blue-collar workers age 21 to 34. This initiative is discussed in more detail in the next chapter.

Finally, the Smart Roads program has well-defined objectives and a staff with ample experience in program management – two important factors that we believe will ensure the continuity of the program in years to come. Note that Crossroads and the Drive Smart Coalition were active in Pueblo for many years prior to the award of CDOT’s grant, making it more likely that these two organizations will continue in the future to support DUI prevention and intervention activities in their community.

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4 This office is now known as Injury Control Operations and Resources.

5 See the following publications: BBC Research and Consulting. (1999) Driver Market Research: Executive Summary. Denver: Author; and BBC Research and Consulting. (1999) Drinking and Driving in Pueblo. Denver: Author.