Evaluating Traffic Safety Campaigns: A Guide (2025)
Chapter: Front Matter
GOVERNORS HIGHWAY SAFETY ASSOCIATION RESEARCH COMMITTEE*
CO-CHAIRS
Karson James
Wyoming Department of Transportation
Tim Kerns
Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration
MEMBERS
Rick Birt
District of Columbia Highway Safety Office
Amy Boggs
West Virginia Governorʼs Highway Safety Program
Joel Brisson
Tennessee Highway Safety Office
Mark Ezzell
North Carolina Governorʼs Highway Safety Program
Brian Harmon
Minnesota Department of Public Safety
Lissette Morgan
Arizona Governorʼs Office of Highway Safety
Flavia Pereira
Connecticut Department of Transportation
Max Tyler Roberts
Washington Traffic Safety Commission
__________________
* Membership as of August 2025.
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2025 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
OFFICERS
Chair: Leslie S. Richards, Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Vice Chair: Joel M. Jundt, Secretary of Transportation, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Pierre
Executive Director: Victoria Sheehan, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC
MEMBERS
James F. Albaugh, President and CEO, The Boeing Company (retired), Scottsdale, AZ
Carlos M. Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City
Douglas C. Ceva, Vice President, Customer Lead Solutions, Prologis, Inc., Jupiter, FL
Nancy Daubenberger, Commissioner of Transportation, Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul
Marie Therese Dominguez, Commissioner, New York State Department of Transportation, Albany
Garrett Eucalitto, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Newington
Andrew Fremier, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco, CA
Martha Grabowski, Professor Emerita, Information Systems, Le Moyne College, Madden College of Business & Economics, Cazenovia, NY
Randell Iwasaki, President and CEO, Iwasaki Consulting Services, Walnut Creek, CA
Carol A. Lewis, Professor, Transportation Studies, Texas Southern University, Houston
Scott C. Marler, Director, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames
Ricardo Martinez, Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA
Russell McMurry, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta
Craig E. Philip, Research Professor and Director, VECTOR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Steward T.A. Pickett, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
Susan A. Shaheen, Professor and Co-Director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
Marc Williams, Executive Director, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Bryan Bedford, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
Michael R. Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC
Tariq Bokhari, Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC
Steven G. Bradbury, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Steven Cliff, Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento
Drew Feeley, Acting Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Washington, DC
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Germantown, MD
Firas Ibrahim, Director, Office of Research, Development, and Technology, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), Washington, DC
Jason Kelly, Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
Sandra Knight, President, WaterWonks, LLC, Washington, DC
Ben Kochman, Acting Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Washington, DC
Niloo Parvinashtiani, Engineer, Mobility Consultant Solutions, Iteris Inc., Fairfax, VA, and Chair, TRB Young Members Coordinating Council
Gloria Shepherd, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC
Karl Simon, Director, Transportation and Climate Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC
Sang Yi, Acting Administrator, U.S. Maritime Administration, Washington, DC
_________________________
* Membership as of August 2025.
BEHAVIORAL TRAFFIC SAFETY COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
BTSCRP RESEARCH REPORT 14
Evaluating Traffic Safety Campaigns
A GUIDE
Naomi Dunn
Rick Greatbatch
Josh Radlbeck
VIRGINIA TECH TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE
VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY
Blacksburg, VA
Christopher La Rose
Joselin Bravo Bueno
NORC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Atlanta, GA
Subscriber Categories
Safety and Human Factors
Research sponsored by the Governors Highway Safety Association and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
2025
BEHAVIORAL TRAFFIC SAFETY COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
Since the widespread introduction of motor vehicles more than a century ago, crashes involving their operation remain a significant public health concern. While there have been enormous improvements in highway design and construction, as well as motor vehicle safety, which have been instrumental in lowering the rate of crashes per million miles in the United States, more than 35,000 people die every year in motor vehicle crashes. In far too many cases, the root causes of the crashes are the unsafe behaviors of motor vehicle operators, cyclists, and pedestrians. Understanding human behaviors and developing effective countermeasures to unsafe ones is difficult and remains a major weakness in our traffic safety efforts.
The Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP) develops practical solutions to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce costs of road traffic crashes associated with unsafe behaviors. BTSCRP is a forum for coordinated and collaborative research efforts. It is managed by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) under the direction and oversight of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) with funding provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Funding for the program was originally established in Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), Subsection 402(c), which created the National Cooperative Research and Evaluation Program (NCREP). Fixing Americaʼs Surface Transportation (FAST) Act continued the program. In 2017, GHSA entered into an agreement with TRB to manage the research activities, with the program name changed to Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program. The GHSA Executive Board serves as the governing board for the BTSCRP. The Board consists of officers, representatives of the 10 NHTSA regions, and committee and task force chairs. The Research Committee Chair appoints committee members who recommend projects for funding and provide oversight for the activities of BTSCRP. Its ultimate goal is to oversee a quality research program that is committed to addressing research issues facing State Highway Safety Offices. The Executive Board meets annually to approve research projects. Each selected project is assigned to a panel, appointed by TRB, which provides technical guidance and counsel throughout the life of the project. The majority of panel members represent the intended users of the research projects and have an important role in helping to implement the results. BTSCRP produces a series of research reports and other products such as guidebooks for practitioners. Primary emphasis is placed on disseminating BTSCRP results to the intended users of the research: State Highway Safety Offices and their constituents.
BTSCRP RESEARCH REPORT 14
Project BTS-18
ISSN 2766-5976 (Print)
ISSN 2766-5984 (Online)
ISBN 978-0-309-99370-8
Library of Congress Control Number 2024941628
© 2025 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Authors herein are responsible for the originality and accuracy of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) grants permission to reproduce written material in this publication for classroom and non-commercial purposes subject to the rights of any third parties and appropriate attribution. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply NAS, TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. For other uses of the written material, users must request permission from the National Academies Press.
NOTICE
The research report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
This material is based upon work sponsored by the Governors Highway Safety Association in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under Agreement No. DTNH2216H00018 or 693JJ92250010. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed or implied in this document are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors.
The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.
The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the sponsors of the Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturersʼ names or logos appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.
Published research reports of the
BEHAVIORAL TRAFFIC SAFETY COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM
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The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major program divisions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to mobilize expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges. The Boardʼs varied activities annually engage about 8,500 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.
Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR BTSCRP RESEARCH REPORT 14
Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Richard A. Retting, Senior Program Officer
Tijhuana Stapleton, Senior Program Assistant
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Kami Cabral, Editor
BTSCRP PROJECT BTS-18 PANEL
Susan B Herbel, SBH Consult, Fort Meyers, FL (Chair)
Andrew H. Ceifetz, WSP, Walled Lake, MI
Jeremy R. Chapman, Progressive AE, Asheville, NC
Nicole L. Charlson, Oregon Department of Transportation, Salem, OR
Wendy Coleman, Penna Powers, Salt Lake City, UT
Chanyoung Lee, USF Center for Urban Transportation Research, Tampa, FL
Annette Tucker, NHTSA Liaison
Bernardo B. Kleiner, TRB Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research reported herein was performed under BTSCRP Project BTS-18, “Objectives, Components, and Measures of Effective Traffic Safety Public Awareness and Education Efforts, by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) with support from NORC at the University of Chicago. Dr. Naomi Dunn, Research Scientist within the Division of Vehicle, Driver & System Safety, was the Project Director and Principal Investigator. The other VTTI authors of this report are Dr. Rick Greatbatch, Co-Principal Investigator and Research Associate, Division of Vehicle, Driver & System Safety; and Dr. Josh Radlbeck, Research Associate, Division of Vehicle, Driver & System Safety. The NORC researchers include Dr. Christopher La Rose, Senior Research Scientist, Public Health; and Joselin Bravo Bueno, Senior Research Associate, Public Health.
FOREWORD
By Richard A. Retting
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
BTSCRP Research Report 14: Evaluating Traffic Safety Campaigns: A Guide provides insights into current practices for measuring the effectiveness of behavioral-based traffic safety campaigns. It also presents a framework for evaluating traffic safety campaigns, with the goal of designing and conducting future campaigns to more effectively promote safer road user behaviors. This report will be of interest to state highway safety offices (SHSOs) and other stakeholders concerned with understanding the effectiveness of traffic safety campaigns and associated outcomes.
Most states have engaged in some sort of behavioral-based traffic safety programs using education and enforcement to change road user behavior. Well-known examples include NHTSAʼs Click It or Ticket and Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaigns. With law enforcement agencies across the nation now facing resource challenges, many states are experiencing less participation in these types of campaigns.
Some states have launched new behavioral-based traffic safety campaigns focused more on public awareness, education, and individual responsibility. These campaigns can present some evidence of effectiveness, but such effects are often limited to communication metrics (e.g., number of impressions) rather than behavioral outcomes. A better understanding of how to measure the effectiveness of such campaigns would help create successful and sustainable initiatives.
Under BTSCRP Project BTS-18, “Objectives, Components, and Measures of Effective Traffic Safety Public Awareness and Education Efforts,” Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University was asked to (1) identify current practices used by SHSOs and other entities to evaluate the effectiveness of traffic safety campaigns and associated outcomes, and (2) develop a practical and scalable framework for evaluating how to engage road users, through traffic safety campaigns, to change behavior and improve safety performance. The focus of this research was public awareness and education campaigns regarding nonenforcement traffic safety.
Appendix A, Costing Tool, and an evaluation matrix are supplemental products to BTSCRP Research Report 14. These products can be found on the National Academies Press website ((https://nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for BTSCRP Research Report 14: Evaluating Traffic Safety Campaigns: A Guide.
BTSCRP Web-Only Document 7 is a companion to BTSCRP Research Report 14. The web-only document describes the research methodology and can be found on the National Academies Press website (https://nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for BTSCRP Web-Only Document 7: Objectives, Components, and Measures of Effective Traffic Safety Public Awareness and Education Efforts.
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Background and Introduction
Chapter 2 Focus Groups and Interviews
Steps for Conducting Focus Groups
Chapter 4 Media Metrics and Other Analytics
Chapter 5 Naturalistic Driving Studies
Chapter 6 Observational Studies
Chapter 7 Epidemiological Studies
Steps for Conducting an Epidemiological Study
Market Research Resources and Social Media Monitoring Resources
