CHAPTER 3
Notable Practices from SHSO Discussions

Discussions with SHSOs and their representatives yielded the following insights. These insights are the opinions, beliefs, or experiences of one or more of the individuals who participated in the interviews, and may provide useful lessons for others seeking to implement similar efforts.

Campaign Assets

The investigated campaigns used various platforms to relay their messages and educational materials to their target populations. The assets used can be divided into five main categories:

1. broadcast
2. print media
3. out-of-home (OOH) media
4. interpersonal
5. digital

Both print and OOH can be further divided into messaging aimed at the masses (above-the-line) versus media targeting individual audience members (below-the-line). Together, these various messaging outlets can reach individuals when they watch TV, read magazines, travel in areas with billboards or posters, shop in stores, go to events, scroll through social media feeds, or surf websites.

There were several specific OOH locations used for campaign messaging. Schools were a common location where campaigns placed messaging for the younger audience. The Lessons Learned campaign used schools to try to reach their teen demographic, and Bike Maineʼs bicycle and pedestrian safety education (https://www.bikemaine.org/education/) specifically went to schools to give talks to students in classrooms and at assemblies, using driverʼs education classes and events like bike rodeos to reach this population. Several campaigns used high school, college, and professional sporting events to spread their campaign message. One example is New Mexicoʼs “ENDWI+” campaign, which used the Albuquerque Isotopes baseball games. New York used NASCAR drivers and events to platform their message on speed awareness to attendees. The “High Five Rural Traffic Safety” program in Kentucky used fast-food restaurants to spread awareness of safety belts (https://transportation.ky.gov/HighwaySafety/Pages/highfiveky.aspx). For this program, local law enforcement would identify drivers in the drive-through as either wearing or not wearing their seat belt. Those wearing seat belts received a coupon for a free item at the restaurant; those not wearing seat belts received information on the importance of wearing them. Public parks were also an area for public messaging, as were Department of Motor Vehicles offices. Campaigns also distributed messages in locations where products that could impair driving are sold, such as in Coloradoʼs “Meet the Effects” campaign, which distributed messages inside marijuana dispensaries with the goal of reaching individuals before they

engaged in behaviors that could impair driving. To target pedestrians and cyclists, campaigns like “Scan the Street for Wheels and Feet” (WWLP 2017) used transit stations to spread their message. Several states also concentrated their messaging in areas around the state that were overrepresented in the crash data.

Broadcast

• Radio: Radio is a traditional audio broadcast medium that communicates to a wide audience in multiple languages. New Mexicoʼs “ENDWI+” campaign creates radio content in both English and Spanish. Campaigns can use radio for public service announcements, making them available to a broad demographic. Broadcasting radio public service announcements (PSAs) to reach individuals while possibly engaged in the behavior being discussed is a unique opportunity for some OOH assets.
• Television: Television, like radio, can deliver messaging to a broad audience. In addition to visual PSAs, campaigns also use broadcast news conferences to alert the public of their campaign and their mission.

Print

Above-the-Line

• Newspapers: Newspapers can provide information, campaign ads, and infographics to a broad population. This medium works well with audiences that still use newspapers as a main source of information. For this reason, Montanaʼs “SOAR” (“Safe on All Roads”) campaign uses newspapers to reach tribal communities (https://www.mdt.mt.gov/visionzero/plans/soar.aspx).
• Magazine ads: Ads about campaign education can be placed in print or digital magazines that target audiences based on the magazineʼs niche or focus. Coloradoʼs “Drugged Driving” campaign places information in marijuana magazines to target their audience of marijuana users.

Below-the-Line

• Pamphlets: Some campaigns used printed booklets or brochures sent through postal mail to give recipients detailed information and educational content on their campaign topic.
• Infographics: Infographics offer visual representations of data or information that simplify complex concepts into easy-to-understand graphics. Mailing infographics to an individualʼs residence gets the information directly into their hands and combines visual appeal with educational content to engage recipients and deliver messages effectively.

OOH

Above-the-Line

• Billboards: These large outdoor advertising structures are generally positioned in areas of high vehicle activity or near certain attractions. Campaigns targeting boaters, for example, can choose areas near lakes (Fletcher 2024). Billboards can also engage the target audience in real time while they engage in the targeted behavior.
• Digital out-of-home media (DOOH): This includes digital billboards and LED screens that display campaign content in public spaces. DOOH offers flexibility for updating messages and provides high visibility in urban environments. This strategy was used in Pennsylvaniaʼs “PennDOT Safety 2023” campaign.
• Murals: Massachusettsʼs “Buckle Up, Brockton” campaign (https://www.mass.gov/news/massdot-partners-with-city-of-brockton-to-remind-drivers-to-buckle-up) included public art depicting local individuals and was created by a local artist to convey the stateʼs message

• about protecting yourself and your loved ones by wearing seat belts. These murals can foster community engagement by featuring the local community via both language and visual appeals.
• Cinemas: Both the “Save MO Lives” and “Slow Down New England” campaigns (https://www.savemolives.com/mcrs; CTDOT 2022), which focused on younger male drivers, used movie theaters to show PSAs to captive audiences.
• Speedways: Campaigns can use racetracks or speedways to educate attendees on the safety risks of speeding. This audience is most likely already interested in fast driving and is thus a great target for education about the dangers of speeding.

Below-the-Line

• Posters: Printed visual media is designed for display in public spaces to communicate key messages or promote campaigns. Posters are often placed in high-traffic areas to maximize visibility and engagement.
• Gas station pump toppers: This messaging is displayed on top of fuel pumps at gas stations, targeting a captive audience of drivers during refueling. Both Michigan and Alabama campaigns used this method (https://adeca.alabama.gov/ctsp/).
• Gas station TVs: Some gas stations have small screens at gas pumps that display video ads or PSAs. Gas station TVs are an effective way to engage drivers while they refuel, offering brief but impactful content to persuade them to consider their driving behaviors as they get back behind the wheel. Virginia (Alvarez-Wertz 2023) and Maine (The County 2021) used this medium for delivering messages on speeding and seat belt-wearing, respectively.
• Sign waving: Sign waving was used in Hawaiiʼs “No Excuses” campaign (https://hidot.hawaii.gov/highways/hawaii-traffic-safety-partners-launch-no-excuses-campaign-labor-day-weekend/). Sign waving is a grassroots community activity where local citizens, sometimes accompanied by law enforcement, silently wave signs to show support for road safety campaigns. This method fosters community involvement and visually communicates a unified message of safety.
• Stickers: Stickers are small materials with printed campaign logos or slogans that can be easily distributed to individuals or placed in visible locations.
• Physical yard signs: Small physical yard signs can be placed in residential yards to display support for specific campaigns or to provide educational messages. These signs can act as community endorsements of safety initiatives and enhance local visibility for the campaign. Bike Maine used this method to distribute its messaging for the “Slow ME Down” campaign (https://www.bikemaine.org/slow-me-down/), specifically to reach drivers in rural and suburban areas where there is more focus on slowing drivers down for other road users, such as cyclists.
• Banners: Large printed banners can be displayed in public spaces or along streets to capture the attention of drivers and pedestrians. They can also be easily moved to different locations after an allotted time frame.
• Bookmarks: Bike Maineʼs “Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education” program printed bookmarks featuring educational content on bike safety and distributed them to libraries and other public spaces.
• Tear-off pads with information: Coloradoʼs “Meet the Effects” educational campaign printed educational information on pads with sheets that can be torn off and taken by individuals. These were placed in areas that users of cannabis might frequent, such as dispensaries.
• Icebox wrappers: Oklahoma used custom wrappers with safe boating information placed around ice boxes for their “Whatever You Drive, Drive Sober” campaign. These wrappers can help target individuals purchasing ice to fill coolers, which typically occurs before a day of boating.
• Shopping bags: Branded or informational bags provided to customers at the point of sale can be used to promote safety messages, specifically in relation to the possible items purchased. Colorado provided such bags to cannabis dispensaries as an opportunity to reach customers directly with important reminders about road safety.

Interpersonal

• Events with rollover/crash simulators: Educational events featuring simulators that demonstrate vehicle rollovers or crashes were used by campaigns to raise awareness of traffic safety behaviors. These events can provide experiential learning opportunities for participants, emphasizing the importance of road safety and the consequences of dangerous driving behaviors such as speeding, as used by New York in their “Speed Awareness Week Enforcement” campaign.
• Talks with students: Some campaigns, such as Bike Maineʼs “Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education” focused heavily on reaching their audience through educational presentations delivered to students in schools. These talks aim to influence young drivers by raising awareness and promoting safe practices. Using games and interactive activities in programming provides opportunities to raise awareness and promote safe practices in an engaging and memorable format (https://www.gpb.org/sports/heads-up-georgia).
• Personal advocate testimonials: A few campaigns shared real-life accounts from individuals affected by crashes or traffic-related incidents to highlight the personal impact of unsafe driving behaviors. These testimonials can add an emotional and authentic element to safety campaigns.
• Mascots: Characters, such as Stanley the Sasquatch representing Idahoʼs “SHIFT Engaged Driving” campaign (https://shift-idaho.org/), can be used as friendly figures to promote road safety messages in a relatable and engaging way. Mascots help to personify campaigns and make them more memorable to the public.
• Peer-to-peer messaging: Peer-to-peer messaging leverages individuals to communicate safety messages directly to their peers. This approach can build credibility, particularly among younger audiences, by encouraging community members the audience already trusts to share important safety information. Colorado uses this approach by having “budtenders” (the cannabis equivalent of bartenders) in cannabis shops give educational material to their customers on the effects of driving while high.

Expanding Audience Engagement and Partnerships

• Social media: Social media platforms serve as tools for disseminating traffic safety messages due to their wide reach and real-time interaction with users. These platforms can leverage user data to deliver relevant messages to a targeted audience using visuals, video content, and memes. Social media platforms that campaign organizers mentioned using in their campaigns included Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, TikTok, and Twitch.
• Websites: Websites can act as hubs for traffic safety campaign information. They can host a range of content from articles, videos, infographics, data, and toolkits available for download. For example, South Dakota hosts an interactive map on their “South Dakota Rides” campaign website that highlights specific routes, rates their ride difficulty level, and provides videos of the ride.
• Downloadable educational materials: These include brochures, infographics, or lesson plans that users can download from websites. Educational materials can be designed for various audiences and can be used in classrooms or public outreach programs. Bike Maine provides downloadable materials on bicycle and pedestrian safety to spread their educational materials widely and to whoever might need it.
• Behavioral change pledges: Encouraging individuals (specifically students) to make formal pledges to commit to safe driving behaviors, such as wearing seat belts or avoiding distracted driving, can foster a sense of personal responsibility and accountability. These pledges can lead to long-term behavior change and peer influence in schools and communities. The “Save MO Lives” campaign reports that their approach of using pledges with high school students has been successful.
• Workplace toolkits: Workplace toolkits can give organizations resources to promote traffic safety in the work environment. Workplace toolkits can include a variety of resources, such as

• posters, workplace policies, and handbooks. Idahoʼs “SHIFT Engaged Driving” campaign provides toolkits directed to employers and employees on safe driving.
• Web-based advertisements: Web-based advertisements can be designed to appear on specific sites based on usersʼ behavior and search history. These ads may lead users to further resources or educational material. For example, Coloradoʼs “Meet the Effects” campaign places ads on cannabis festival websites to target attendees and provides them information on the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs. Further, instant experience ads on social media platforms create an immersive ad unit that resembles a microsite. These interactive ads bridge the gap between static ads and landing pages, offering an engaging experience that encourages interaction and learning.
• Videos: Online videos, including those shared through social media platforms like YouTube or Vimeo, can be used to demonstrate traffic safety principles. They can vary from short PSAs to longer educational videos. Videos such as these are typically designed to elicit emotional responses to reinforce safety messages. For example, Illinoisʼs campaign “Itʼs Not a Game” (https://www.itsnotagameillinois.com/?utm_source=pressrelease&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=ItsNotaGame) created computer game-type videos to spread their messages on safe driving. Games are available on multiple online platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, their campaign website, and more.
• Over-the-top television (OTT): OTT refers to streaming services that deliver content via the internet directly to connected devices, bypassing traditional cable or satellite television. Common platforms include Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services that provide opportunities to run advertisements during breaks or as ads before video content. These platforms enable targeting the audience based on demographics, which helps campaigns focus message delivery.
• Memes: Memes communicate traffic safety messages using humorous text on pictures. Memes are easy to share quickly, which makes them an easy tool for reaching younger audiences.
• Spotify and Pandora: Spotify and Pandora are music streaming services where traffic safety campaigns can run audio advertisements or sponsored playlists. These ads are often targeted based on the userʼs listening habits or geographic location, which can be relevant to certain campaigns.
• Waze: Waze, a GPS navigation app, incorporates real-time traffic updates and crowdsourced alerts. Waze offers a unique opportunity for delivering location-specific traffic safety messages such as warnings about dangerous driving conditions or road closures directly to drivers while they are on the road.
• Google Ads: Google Ads provides a platform for promoting traffic safety messages through paid search advertisements. These ads appear when users search for traffic-related keywords, helping to direct them to relevant safety resources or campaign websites.
• Podcasts: Podcasts offer a platform for delivering more in-depth traffic safety messages in a conversational format. These podcasts could include discussions with traffic safety experts, law enforcement officials, or victim advocates to share personal stories, data, and practical tips, which can resonate with listeners. Additionally, podcast advertising may be used to target specific populations.
• Twitch: Twitch is a live streaming platform primarily used for video gaming but also offers the broadcasting of e-sport competitions, music content, and other creative content. Twitch offers opportunities for sponsored content. Traffic safety campaigns targeting younger audiences or gamers, such as the Illinois “Itʼs Not a Game” campaign, can use Twitch to deliver safety messages through popular streamers or during gaming events.

Strategic Partnerships

While developing and running a traffic safety campaign, states partnered with various external organizations to help support and drive the campaign toward success. Effective traffic safety campaigns rely on a diverse network of partners to enhance their reach, credibility, and impact.

Collaborations with local government and law enforcement agencies provide essential support for enforcement initiatives and policy development, while advocacy groups and libraries offer community-specific outreach, promoting safety messages locally. The involvement of departments of education and state universities extends campaign messaging to younger audiences through educational and sports programs. Media partnerships, such as with state public broadcasting associations, help facilitate widespread dissemination of safety messages. Additionally, engaging with marketing teams, media consultants, and social media influencers ensures campaigns are strategically targeted to the desired population. These collaborative efforts ensure safety campaigns are comprehensive, well-supported, and capable of driving meaningful change in public behavior. Examples of partnerships include:

• Local government: The “Buckle Up Brockton” campaign uses its town government as a partner. The town government gives a local voice with insight into the diverse local population and supports the initiatives.
• Child passenger safety technicians: Campaigns involving child safety protection can benefit from partnering with child passenger safety technicians who work directly with the public to educate them on proper child passenger safety behaviors (https://oklahoma.gov/highwaysafety/focus-areas/child-passenger-safety.html).
• Advocacy groups: Advocacy groups have experience working with and engaging communities as a call to action. Their grassroots efforts and established relationships with the public allow for effective dissemination of messages. Hawaiiʼs “No Excuses” campaign used city and county “Vision Zero” groups as partners.
• Departments of education: Departments of education may integrate traffic safety education into school curricula and extracurricular activities. By educating students from a young age about safe driving behaviors and pedestrian safety, the departments can help instill positive lifelong habits. Additionally, they can facilitate partnerships between schools and local safety organizations for campaigns and events. Programs such as “Lesson Learned” in South Dakota (https://drivesafesd.com/lesson-learned/) are well-received by students and bring awareness to critical issues like distracted driving. By engaging with young drivers in an interactive and relatable manner, these campaigns can gain popularity and influence behavior change early on. However, it should be noted that there may be challenges accessing educational institutions due to administrative barriers, curriculum constraints, and limited time for nonacademic programming.
• Law enforcement: Law enforcement involvement in traffic safety campaigns can lend credibility and provide valuable data on traffic incidents to identify high-risk areas. Officers can also engage directly with the public through safety checkpoints, school visits, and local events.
• Public broadcasting associations: Public broadcasting associations can air PSAs and educational programming to promote traffic safety messages. Public broadcasting has a wide reach and a reputation for trusted information, so these associations can effectively communicate campaign education to diverse audiences, including those who may not adopt or use newer media platforms.
• Sports teams: Sports teams at high school, university, and professional levels can have a strong influence on communities. Sports teams can participate in traffic safety campaigns by featuring messages during games, collaborating on social media campaigns, and engaging with fans through events or promotional materials. The opportunity to have these teams advocate for safe driving behaviors can make the messaging more relatable to the public. The “ENDWI+” campaign in New Mexico teamed up with high school and state university teams and the state professional baseball team to spread awareness on the effects of driving while high.
• Marketing teams: Marketing teams, either professional or through university programs, have the experience to develop creative and impactful campaign materials that resonate with target audiences. They can craft tailored messages, design visual content, and implement strategic

• outreach plans to ensure campaigns reach their intended demographics effectively. Marketing teams can also help evaluate the impact of the campaign for state agencies.
• Libraries: Libraries serve as community hubs and can provide resources, host events, and distribute educational materials on traffic safety. They can collaborate with local organizations to offer workshops and educational demonstrations, display posters, provide safety-themed items (like bookmarks), and host activities in childrenʼs programming.
• State departments of health: State departments of health can help disseminate traffic safety messages by integrating them into existing public health initiatives and offering support in development with insight on current state-concerning traffic safety issues.
• Social media influencers: Social media influencers can help traffic safety campaigns reach younger audiences. Their authentic and engaging content can make safety messages more relatable and memorable, encouraging followers to adopt safe driving behaviors and share the information in their own networks. New Mexicoʼs “Zero Proof” campaign specifically used social media influencers to spread their message on the effects of underage drinking via sharing personal stories to connect with the audience (https://zeroproofme.squarespace.com/).
• Commercial vendors: Commercial vendors, such as budtenders, are viewed as trusted messengers of campaign information.
• State DOTs: State DOTs can support the development and dissemination of traffic safety campaigns by providing data on traffic patterns, crash hotspots, and roadway conditions. Additionally, DOTs can facilitate infrastructure improvements, support public awareness initiatives, and collaborate with other state agencies to ensure cohesive messaging and policy implementation.
• Transportation industries (e.g., railroad): Transportation industries can contribute to traffic safety campaigns by promoting safety around specific areas of their transportation field. They can collaborate on initiatives and engage in community outreach to highlight the importance of adhering to certain behaviors. For example, Texasʼs “Freight Safety Awareness” campaign partners with the railroad industry to get a clearer view of issues with railroad safety and distribute the messaging to the targeted population.