Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Civil Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Hernandez, Sarah V.

Committee Member

Mitra, Suman K.

Second Committee Member

Sasidharan, Lekshmi

Keywords

Binary Logistic Regression; Campaign Recall; Road Safety; Traffic Safety Campaigns

Abstract

This study estimates the degree to which drivers recall traffic safety campaigns based on sociodemographic characteristics including driving frequency, vehicle type, education, income, age, household composition, race, and gender. Traffic safety campaigns are efforts to educate, persuade, and inspire individuals to adjust their attitudes and behaviors for improved road safety, utilizing planned communications over a set time period. They aim to encourage safe driving using slogans shown on television, radio, social media, billboards, and variable message signs. Two years of a mail-based survey conducted in Arkansas were used to estimate binary logistic regression models for each of four safety campaigns. The findings indicate that overall recall is 92%, yet variability exists across campaigns. For example, the “Click it or Ticket” campaign aimed at encouraging seat belt use achieved an 83% recall rate, whereas the “Speeding Slows You Down” campaign aimed at promoting safe driving speeds was recalled by only 7% of respondents. Key predictors of recall include gender, with males exhibiting higher recall (ORs ≈ 1.38 – 1.68) compared to females, and driving frequency, where non-daily drivers have about 40–45% lower odds of recall (ORs ≈ 0.55–0.63) than everyday drivers. Additionally, respondents surveyed in 2024 had between 1.68 and 1.74 times the odds of recalling campaign messages compared to those surveyed in 2023. Other significant factors influencing recall were income, driving frequency, race and age. These model results underscore that not only does overall recall vary, but specific demographic and temporal factors consistently influence the likelihood of campaign recall.

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