PROMOTING SAFETY BELT USE WITH TRAFFIC SIGNS AND PROMPTERS

Two studies were conducted examining the stimulus-control effects of conventional traffic signs as prompts for motor vehicle driver safety belt use. Following pilot research which suggested that a traffic sign reading “Fasten Safety Belt” posted at a parking lot exit was effective in producing small increases in safety belt use, Study I demonstrated the superiority of having human prompters display such signs compared to simply posting the signs. Study II replicated the findings of Study I and found that posted signs became more effective in prompting safety belt use if simple posting was preceded by a period involving human prompters who displayed the signs. The results bear upon the development of more effective use of traffic signs in promoting safety belt use and in viewing such use as an instance of rule-governed behavior.     

Using accelerator pedal force to increase seat belt use of service vehicle drivers

This study evaluated a device that applied a sustained increase in accelerator pedal back force whenever drivers exceeded a preset speed criterion without buckling their seat belts. This force was removed once the belt was fastened. Participants were 6 commercial drivers who operated carpet-cleaning vans. During baseline, no contingency was in place for unbuckled trips. The pedal resistance was introduced via a multiple baseline design across groups. On the first day of treatment, the device was explained and demonstrated for all drivers of the vehicle. The treatment was associated with an immediate sustained increase in seat belt compliance to 100%. Occasionally, drivers initially did not buckle during a trip and encountered the force. In all instances, they buckled within less than 25 s. These results suggest that the increased force was sufficient to set up an establishing operation to reinforce seat belt buckling negatively. Drivers indicated that they were impressed with the device and would not drive very long unbelted with the pedal force in place.     

"Flash for life": Community-based prompting for safety belt promotion

A community-based strategy for promoting safety belt use was field-tested in two adjacent rural communities, one populated by a preponderance of students, faculty, and staff of a major university. The intervention involved the front-seat passenger of a stopped vehicle displaying to the driver of an adjacent, stopped vehicle an 11 x 14 inch flash card that read, "PLEASE BUCKLE UP-I CARE." If the driver buckled up, the "flasher" flipped over the card and displayed the message, "THANK YOU." This flash card was shown to 1,087 unbuckled drivers; 82% of these drivers looked at the flash card and 22% of these complied with the buckle-up request. Compliance was not influenced by the age or gender of the "flasher" (young child vs. college student), nor by the gender of the driver; but significantly more drivers in the university town buckled up following the flash card presentation (25% mean compliance in the college town vs. 14% in the other community). To date, over 2,000 individuals have received a buckle-up flash card for their own use.     

The experience of new sensorimotor contingencies by sensory augmentation

Embedded in the paradigm of embodied cognition, the theory of sensorimotor contingencies (SMCs) proposes that motor actions and associated sensory stimulations are tied together by lawful relations termed SMCs. We aimed to investigate whether SMCs can be learned by means of sensory augmentation. Therefore we focused on related perceptual changes. Subjects trained for 7 weeks with the feelSpace belt mapping information of the magnetic north to vibrotactile stimulation around the waist. They experienced substantial changes in their space perception. The belt facilitated navigation and stimulated the usage of new navigation strategies. The belt’s vibrating signal changed to a kind of spatial information over time while the belt’s appeal and perceived usability increased. The belt also induced certain emotional states. Overall, the results show that learning new SMCs with this relatively small and usable device leads to profound perceptual and emotional changes, which are fully compatible with embodied theories of cognition.     

A home-based approach to understanding the effect of spatial autocorrelation on seat belt non-use

Roadside observations indicate that seat belt use rates are often spatially correlated with nearby areas. However, very few studies have examined the effects of spatial autocorrelation on seat belt use. This study used exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to explore spatial autocorrelation in Tennessee, which has a lower seat belt use than the United States national average. We geocoded home-addresses of vehicle occupants involved in traffic crashes between 2014 and 16 (n = 1,251,901) and projected them to the census tract corresponding to their home address. This projection reveals information about the spatial distribution of seat belt non-use and socioeconomics of the areas surrounding the crash victim's home. The presence of highly spatially correlated observations (i.e., a significant positive Moran’s I) suggests that seat belt non-use is not produced solely by the internal structural factors represented in the non-spatial models. ESDA reveals a distinctive regional imprint for spatial autocorrelation, in which Southern-metropolitan areas’ (Southern-MPOs) in Tennessee census tracts have higher than average seat belt non-use compared to Non-Southern-MPOs (16% vs. 9%). The spatial error model was suitable for Non-Southern-MPOs, whereas the spatial lag model was more suitable for Southern MPOs. Comparison of the estimated models indicates that in the Non-Southern MPOs, percentage of the White population, percentage of the population with Bachelor's degree, median household income, vehicle ownership, and population density are significant predictors of seat belt non-use. On the other hand, median household income, vehicle ownership, and percentage of population aged between 16 and 42 years old predict seat belt non-use in Southern MPOs. The study results could be used to identify seat belt non-use clusters at the state level and identify seat belt non-use hot zones. Furthermore, this analysis indicates that the relationship between demographic variables and seat belt non-use varies across regimes. Failing to consider the spatial regimes in the analysis would lead to falsely prioritizing groups prone to seat belt non-use.     

BEHAVIOR CHANGE IN THE FUNNY PAPERS: FEEDBACK TO CARTOONISTS ON SAFETY BELT USE

A multiple baseline across 8 nationally syndicated cartoonists evaluated the effects of personal advocacy letters encouraging presentations of a specific prevention message—the depiction of safety belt use in comic strips showing motor vehicle occupants. During baseline these cartoonists depicted safety belt use in only 15% (6 of 41) of their strips with occupied vehicles, but following receipt of a personal letter requesting safety belt use 41% (42 of 102) of their strips depicted safety belt use. Four cartoonists showed clear and immediate increases in depiction of safety belt use, 2 demonstrated delayed and somewhat less consistent belt use, and 2 cartoonists showed no change. The approach and results are discussed with regard to advocacy efforts intended to influence presentation of prevention messages in the media.     

Detecting motorcycle rider local physical fatigue and discomfort using surface electromyography and seat interface pressure

Whilst motorcycling is an activity of pleasure in most parts of the world, in India it is a regular mode of commuting. Incidence of fatigue is substantially higher among motorcycle riders than drivers of other modes of transport. The objective of this study was to detect physical fatigue due to motorcycle riding for an hour using surface electromyography (sEMG) and seat interface pressure. Twenty healthy male participants performed 60 min of motorcycle riding in a low traffic density environment. Muscle activity was recorded bilaterally from extensor carpi radialis (ECR), biceps brachii (BB), trapezius medial (TM), sternocleldomastoid (S) latissimus dorsi (LD) and erector spinae (ES) muscle groups. Interface seat pressure distribution was monitored using a pressure mapping system. Results showed that participants have significant (p < 0.05) physical fatigue in TM, LD and ES muscle groups during 60 min of motorcycle riding. Seat pressure distribution was found to be non-uniform during the course of motorcycling. Results suggest that the impact on local physical fatigue and seat discomfort are probably due to static seating demand and prolonged sitting posture balance required to ride the motorcycle for an hour.     

Prompting safety belt use: comparative impact on the target behavior and relevant body language

ResearcherS used two behavioral prompts to compare increases in safety belt use: a Click It or Ticket prompt or a Flash-for-Life prompt. Participants were 1,822 unbuckled drivers exiting two student parking lots of a large university. Research assistants identified unbuckled drivers, flashed one of the two prompts, and recorded whether drivers buckled after the prompt and the drivers' facial expressions and hand gestures. Findings and implications are discussed.     

Increasing seat belt use in service vehicle drivers with a gearshift delay

This study evaluated a device that prevents drivers from shifting vehicles into gear for up to 8 s unless seat belts are buckled. Participants were 101 commercial drivers who operated vans, pickups, or other light trucks from the U.S. and Canada. The driver could escape or avoid the delay by fastening his or her seat belt before shifting out of park. Unbelted participants experienced either a constant delay (8 s) or a variable delay (M = 8 s). A 16‐s delay was introduced for those U.S. drivers who did not show significant improvement. Seat belt use increased from 48% to 67% (a 40% increase) for U.S. drivers and from 54% to 74% (a 37% increase) for Canadian drivers. The fixed delay was more effective for U.S. drivers than the variable delay, but there was no difference between these two delay schedules for Canadian drivers. After the driver fastened his or her seat belt, it tended to remain fastened for the duration of the trip.     

An experimental approach towards the evaluation of a seat belt campaign with an inside view on the psychology behind seat belt use

A Belgian national safety belt campaign was evaluated by means of a questionnaire survey in an adolescent sample. The evaluation was done through a three group after-only design with the use of one control group and two experimental groups. The first experimental group, the attentive group, was exposed to the campaign material in a very direct, attentive way, whereas the second experimental group, the pre-attentive group, was exposed rather inattentively. The framework of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was applied and extended with a habit and a past behaviour variable in order to verify whether seat belt usage is to be understood as an automaticity mechanism (i.e., habitual or repeated past behaviour) or as planned behaviour. In terms of campaign effect, the comparison of the pre-attentive group and the control group revealed no significant differences. However, the attentive group and the control group differed significantly regarding two basic dimensions of perceived behavioural control (i.e., confidence and motivation), habit, past behaviour, behavioural intention and behaviour. In terms of explaining seat belt usage, linear regression models were fitted and gave most support for the repeated past behaviour approach. According to the latter, using seat belts is recycling an originally reasoned behaviour, yet without systematically going through the whole underlying reasoning every time a situation in which the decision to wear a seat belt (or not) presents itself. The practical implications of these findings are discussed more in detail.