5 – CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Our evaluation of the Smart Roads program for 21- to 34-year-old drivers in Pueblo County, Colorado, strongly suggests that the program reduced nighttime injury crashes involving such drivers (a surrogate measure of alcohol-related crashes) in the county. The reduction in nighttime injury crashes involving this age group of drivers as a percentage of all crashes involving this age group of drivers in Pueblo County amounted to a statistically significant 43 percent. At the same time, this percentage increased slightly in the rest of the State.

There is also evidence that the program had a carry-over positive effect on crashes, and also on nighttime single-vehicle crashes, in the eight small counties adjacent to Pueblo County. In Pueblo County plus these eight counties, nighttime injury crashes involving the target group of drivers as percentage of all such crashes for this group decreased significantly by 26 percent, and nighttime single-vehicle crashes as a percentage of all crashes for this age group decreased insignificantly by 14 percent. Both of these percentages increased slightly in the rest of the State.

These conclusions regarding program effect are only valid within the limitations imposed by the evaluation design. Comparison jurisdictions were used to help account for confounding factors that may have influenced outcomes, but available data did not permit such factors to be treated explicitly. However, these conclusions are supported by evidence of a considerable amount of carefully planned activity devoted mainly to an extensive media campaign that did not occur in the comparison jurisdictions. In addition, the Smart Roads program benefited by the involvement by other members of the Pueblo community, including the Pueblo Police Department and the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office; education, medical, and insurance professionals; and staff from two major beer companies and local bars and taverns. Outside direct funding support was modest, consisting only of an annual $75,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation for achieving full-scale operations.

Interestingly, despite a low rate of participation in the Workplace Initiative component of the program, Smart Roads as a whole still had a positive effect on crashes. This implies that the Workplace Initiative was not necessary to achieve that observed effect in Pueblo, and suggests that the program might have had a greater impact if participation in the Workplace Initiative component could have been increased.

Jurisdictions of similar size, composition, and resources may want to consider the Smart Roads approach for reducing alcohol-related crashes among 21- to 34-year-old drivers. Careful planning and community involvement appear to be the essential ingredients for the success of such a program. In particular, although the program was supported by State DOT funding, significant decision-making and administration happened at the local level. This is important because locals often feel that they have a better sense of what works and what does not work within their own communities, and community leaders are more likely to feel motivated and empowered when they retain a significant measure of control over program development. Also, the amount and quality of the research performed prior to and during the Pueblo campaign was outstanding and helped identify the most effective messages and media delivery methods, as well as to evaluate program effectiveness.