HIGHWAY SAFETY IN BLACK/AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES:
ISSUES AND STRATEGIES

Executive Summary

Introduction
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the African-American population is projected to grow 13 percent from 2000 to 2010, compared to 9 percent for the total U.S. population.¹ While this projected growth may have a positive impact on the nation’s diversity, it also foreshadows a significant increase in the number of deaths and injuries from traffic-related incidents, including motor vehicle crashes, among a population that is already statistically over-represented in this area.

Attempts to reach Black communities with messages designed to change behavior and attitudes about traffic and driving safety consistently have been hampered by a lack of access to culturally-relevant strategies and information that would be helpful in developing and communicating programs that hit home. For example, traffic safety professionals who seek to deliver relevant, credible messages and information through the most effective channel need to understand how concerns and priorities among the Black community may differ from those of the mainstream population. To make the effort to develop effective intervention programs even more challenging, communicators also must be prepared to apply different approaches to reach different audiences or subgroups within the African-American community itself, based on age, location, ethnic origin, economic and other factors.

In response to this challenge, NHTSA retained Cordy & Company Public Relations, along with subcontractors AFYA, Inc., and Kevin Raines, to identify traffic safety needs in the Black community, determine effective means of directing traffic safety messages to Black populations, and produce specific guidelines for conducting interventions targeted to the Black community. This report provides that information in the form of research findings and recommendations that can be implemented as part of current or future programs.

Project Goals and General Approach
This study was designed to identify the traffic safety knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of residents in predominantly Black communities and to determine how best to promote highway safety to these communities. The study had four primary research objectives:

Information was gathered from two sources: (1) 45 one-on-one discussions with local community leaders, key individuals who serve the community, local activists, and service providers in areas related to traffic safety; and (2) 48 focus groups with Black members of the public.

The lessons learned from this research were compiled into this report to meet the study’s main objective: to provide an effective resource to guide the development of subsequent Federal, State, and local programs that target (and are sensitive to) the needs of the Black population.

Research Communities
The focus groups and discussions were held in six different communities in order to capture the diversity of opinions and perceptions of various market segments within the Black population. Therefore, the selection of research sites was a very important step in the process. It was important to identify six communities that, in combination, would provide a diverse but representative sample of economic, demographic, and social environments.

The study team developed profiles of all 3,141 counties in the U.S. and developed an optimization algorithm to identify six counties that best represent the Black population. Data were gathered for 19 demographic and economic measures and were coded into a linear program optimization model to identify the most representative combination of six counties. Those counties are presented in a chart below.

Research Methodology
The field research conducted for this study consisted of two phases: (1) one-on-one discussions with key individuals and (2) focus groups in each community. One-on-one discussions were conducted first, followed by focus groups approximately two months later.

The study team, in cooperation with NHTSA staff, prepared lists of types of individuals or occupations who serve the Black community or participate in traffic safety efforts. The final list of discussion candidates included leaders in the following general categories:

• education;
  
• faith-based organizations;
  
• health care;
  
• traffic safety;
  
• media;
  
• law enforcement; and
  
• politics.
  

The study team conducted eight focus groups in each study site, which afforded some selectivity in segmenting focus groups. The team considered two types of segmentation, behavioral or demographic, and with input from NHTSA staff, elected to conduct demographic segmentations. Segmentations were therefore conducted by age and gender.

Based on project priorities, crash statistics and other research, the eight population segments selected for focus groups were as follows:

Summary of Focus Group Findings and Implications for Program Development
Several key findings from the research stand out and are presented below along with their implications for program development.

Key Finding #1:
Drinking and driving and aggressive and reckless driving were consistently identified as significant traffic safety problems across all focus groups regardless of age, gender, or location. Although drinking and driving was regularly cited as a top area of concern, many participants felt that Black people are not the cause of the problem. Rather, participants cited White drivers as the ones who are drinking and driving. Also, participants used definitions of the term “drinking and driving” that varied widely.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
Messages to Black communities must show the relevance of drinking and driving as a behavioral issue rather than an outside risk. Messages must also clarify the definition of drinking and driving, and emphasize the risks.

Key Finding #2:
There was a strong belief at all sites that racial profiling is a serious problem and an ongoing practice of law enforcement. In particular, Black males felt that there is little that they can do to protect themselves from being victims of this practice. While most were able to separate the problem of racial profiling from the benefits of law enforcement, members of law enforcement were not seen as desirable leaders in local traffic safety efforts.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
Law enforcement agencies must address this issue before they can become valuable partners in developing traffic safety programs for Black communities. In light of concerns about racial profiling, program designers should be sensitive in their selection of messages and messengers.

Key Finding #3:
Seat belt use among Blacks is inconsistent, with part-time use prevalent regardless of the community and the age of the participant. Most respondents believed seat belts have a positive safety benefit. Most participants also said that they most frequently wear seat belts in situations that they view as risky, such as traveling long distances, in poor weather conditions, and when riding with young children. Interestingly, seat belt use was also commonly seen as a reflection on the ability of the driver; putting on a seat belt was often seen as a statement of no confidence in the driver’s ability, whether the driver is oneself or another. There was little recognition of the unpredictable nature of some crashes and that they could occur in good and bad weather, on long or short trips, or due to another driver’s error.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
Programs should emphasize the unpreventable and unpredictable risk involved when drivers do not buckle up, and the need to buckle up each and every time a person drives or rides in a vehicle.

Key Finding #4:
For younger participants, especially males, there was a strong relationship between driving and being “cool” (the term “cool” was used throughout the country). Often, young male participants said that when they drive or ride in a vehicle, they are “styling and profiling” in an attempt to look “cool.” (“Styling and profiling” is an attempt to show off or to try to make an impression). Use of seat belts was not viewed as “cool” by the majority of young male participants.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
Reversing this perception among young Black males is important to increasing belt use, and may have a positive effect on seat belt use for their passengers, as well.

Key Finding #5:
If parents responded that they did not wear seat belts, they still wanted to ensure the safety of their children by placing them in child restraints. Nonuse of safety seats was generally attributed to either economic constraints or indifference to safety. For young men, child seats were generally not seen as a high priority, and warranted minimal investment of time and money. Awareness of booster seats was mixed, and most people had only a general knowledge of when a child should use a booster seat.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
More general education needs to be provided to clarify the proper use of safety seats and booster seats. Promoting the use of child safety seat checkups may have a high payoff as well. The value and need for safety seats needs to be emphasized to young fathers.

Key Finding #6:
Blacks have many of the same reasons for not wearing seat belts as the general population, such as discomfort, wrinkling clothes, and simply forgetting. However, most Blacks support seat belt laws, even if they do not consistently wear seat belts and believe that they are more likely to be pulled over for nonuse of seat belts than White drivers.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
The content of existing general messages needs to be shared with and tailored to Black audiences, using more culturally relevant themes, images, language, and media vehicles. In other words, how the message is delivered should be considered, but in many cases the message itself is equally relevant to Black or White target markets.

Key Finding #7:
Local health and medical providers, Black religious leaders, and families were most often identified as the most trusted groups to lead traffic safety efforts in the selected counties. Churches and schools are trusted venues. However, no group or venue enjoyed unanimous support.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
These trusted sources should be incorporated into programs, while also recognizing that no single source is universally trusted and thus parallel messages with different messengers may be warranted. The use of religious leaders should be localized and incorporated into appropriate program elements. Program designers should consult with their local community contacts before selecting messengers.

Key Finding #8:
Blacks in the selected communities for this study were receptive to, and supportive of, positive, realistic messages. Messages should portray truthful, ordinary people in realistic situations. Participants strongly believe it is essential to have Blacks represented in messages and ads that target Black men, women, teens, or seniors.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
Messages and ads should portray ordinary people in believable situations. For the most part, participants were not interested in “blood and guts” images and scenes. Including Black people in the messages is important in attracting the attention of Black audiences.

Key Finding #9:
When compared to White communities, many participants believed that Black communities have significantly inferior street systems in design, construction, and maintenance.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
Messages should forthrightly portray infrastructure in keeping with the public’s perceptions, to ensure that messages are perceived as honest, “above board,” and well received.

Key Finding #10:
Participants are suspicious of safety statistics that do not match their perceptions of the Black community’s opinions or behavior.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
Minimize use of statistics in safety messages targeting Blacks, or make efforts in the message to reinforce the validity of the data as part of a social norming message.

Key Finding #11:
There was a high level of interest and concern about pedestrian issues. Participants had different opinions on issues such as jaywalking and the lack of sidewalks, depending on their geographic region. Participants consistently said that pedestrians wearing dark clothing, and walking along or across roads at night, present dangerous challenges for motorists.

Implications for Targeted Program Development:
Better education is needed in the area of pedestrian safety, especially how to cross streets. These educational efforts need to be targeted to the unique urban or rural environments in local areas, and designed with deference to the other program implications cited earlier with regard to message development and delivery.

When considering target audiences for program development, it is important to heed one participant’s statement that “there are two ways to change: by choice or by force.” This comment sums up the feelings of many, particularly older, participants about a resistance to forced change. Many participants emphasized that messages should target changing the community’s mindset about the benefits of traffic safety, rather than forcing the changes through threats, presumably enforcement.

Key Comparisons Between Focus Groups and One-On-One Discussions

The following are key findings and comparisons of the focus groups and one-on-one discussions.

Major Traffic Safety Problems in Black Communities
There were significant differences in the way focus group participants and one-on-one participants ranked the major traffic safety problems affecting the Black communities in their respective counties. Across all focus groups, the majority of participants ranked drinking and driving as either the top, or one of the top, three problems. Aggressive driving and speeding were also given high priority.

The improper or non-use of child safety seats was the major problem listed in the one-on-one discussions. Contrary to the focus group findings, drinking and driving was rarely mentioned in the one-on-one discussions.

Trusted Messengers of Health and Safety Information
Focus group participants and participants in the one-on-one discussions differed on who they viewed as the most-trusted messengers of health and safety initiatives in the Black community. While the majority of one-on-one discussants in all counties listed elected and law enforcement officials as two of the most credible and trusted messengers, focus group participants reported just the opposite. Focus group participants reported that most in the Black community view both politicians and law enforcement officials with suspicion. In their opinions, both would be poor choices as spokespersons for a health and safety campaign.

However, similar to the focus group findings, the majority of one-on-one participants saw non-profit organizations, community-based organizations, churches and schools as trusted venues and effective at reaching the Black community with messages.

Perceptions in the Black Community About the Enforcement of Traffic Laws
As in the focus groups, the vast majority of participants in the one-on-one discussions reported racial profiling to be a major issue in the Black community. Similarly, both focus group and one-on-one participants said that Black males – particularly young Black males – are more likely to be victims of profiling than other groups.

Participants in both sets of research groups mentioned similar ways to eliminate racial profiling, such as increased diversity on police forces and more accountability for police officers.

Child Safety Seats/Restraints
Participants in the one-on-one discussions consistently listed the improper use and nonuse of child safety seats as a problem within the Black community. In fact, respondents in several counties said they believed people were not knowledgeable about the guidelines and laws that govern the use of child safety seats and restraints.

In the focus groups, the majority of participants who regularly transport children reported consistent use of child safety seats. In fact, many admitted that they were more diligent about using restraints for their children than about using seat belts for themselves.

Guidelines and Strategies for Program Development
Information collected and reviewed for this study suggested the following guidelines for designing and conducting traffic safety programs directed at Black populations:

• Messages may be most effective when directed to the following three target audiences: the “Hip-Hop” Generation, the Civil Rights Generation, and Black Males (of all ages).
  
  
• It is important to address obstacles that impede the communication of traffic safety messages. Three significant obstacles in Black communities are distrust of law enforcement, skepticism about statistics from predominantly White organizations, and the perceived inferiority of sidewalk and road conditions between Black and White communities.
  
  
• It is important to address informational needs. Those needs may include clarification of problem behavior, communication of associated risks and consequences, education about rules and regulations, and/or instruction on safety practices. Identified needs varied across program areas.
  
  
• Messages should be realistic, factual (although not laden with statistics), incorporate culturally relevant music, use trusted spokespersons and sources, and emphasize change by choice rather than change by force. It is important to pretest messages and gather feedback about appropriate spokespersons before implementing a full campaign.
  
  
• Possible channels of delivery include churches and other religious institutions, personal interaction, and mass media. However, the selection of an appropriate channel of delivery is contingent on a community’s character, culture, and resources.

¹U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Population Projects Branch, 2000 Census Data.