title: The effects of anti-speeding advertisements on the simulated driving behaviour of young drivers.
abstract: Recent examinations of road safety communications, including anti-speeding advertisements, have considered the differential effects of positive and negative emotional appeals on driver behaviour. However, empirical evaluations of anti-speeding messages have largely relied on measures of viewers' reported intentions to comply with speed limits and the self-reported driving behaviour of viewers post-exposure, which might not be indicative of the direct effects that these messages have on real-world driving behaviour. The current research constitutes a first empirical evaluation of different real-world anti-speeding advertisements, as measured by their effects on young drivers' speeding behaviour, using a driving simulator. Licensed drivers (N=116) aged 17-25 years completed driving measures prior to, immediately following, and 7-10days after viewing one of four social marketing advertisements. Results indicated that young drivers' average driving speeds were modestly reduced immediately after they viewed an anti-speeding advertisement that depicted social consequences for speeding and employed a positive emotional appeal when compared to an emotion-matched control advertisement; however, this effect was not found for the anti-speeding advertisement depicting a crash. Interestingly, the results based on reported intentions to reduce speeding predicted the opposite pattern of results. However, there was no evidence that the immediate changes to speeding were maintained 7-10days later, and prompts during Phase 2 did not appear to have an effect. The implications of these findings for road safety advertisements targeting young drivers are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia. Electronic address: bernice.plant@mq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Bernice R C
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Plant
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia. Electronic address: julia.irwin@mq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Julia D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia. Electronic address: eugene.chekaluk@mq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chekaluk
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012309:Risk-Taking; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*; D057566:Self Report; D040241:Social Marketing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Advertising; Emotional appeals; Road safety; Social threats; Young drivers