Safe Rides Effectiveness Study Marketing Research Fall 2012 Nick Fulciniti, Dennis White, Andrew Predzimirski, Mikie Connor, Chris Giampietro

Introduction Franklin Pierce University is a small, private regionally accredited university grounded in the liberal arts, with a focus on personal attention and high-quality instruction. The college has about 1,400 undergraduate students.

Definitions The Safe Rides program is a shuttle service offered by Franklin Pierce University that escorts students to specific locations on campus during the weekends, from 10 pm – 2 am. The program is sponsored by SGA and is designed to prevent driving under the influence of alcohol.

Problem Statement Research is necessary to determine whether the Franklin Pierce University Safe Rides program is effective in the prevention of intoxicated student driving.

Research Objectives Assess the current literature related to college- age intoxicated driving, and transportation programs designed to ensure safety Identify student opinions on the effectiveness of the current Safe Rides program offered on campus Assess the transportation needs of Franklin Pierce University students who consume alcohol on the weekends Determine student awareness of the program on campus

Literature Review College-aged drinking trends According to the Federal Centers for Disease Control figures for 2010, 1 in 4 young adults aged 18 – 34 binge drink. According to the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study (CAS), students more likely to binge drink are male, white, under 24 years of age, involved in athletics and residents of a fraternity or sorority

Literature Review (Cont’d) Impaired Driving among College Students According to “Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly”, 63% of examined students 21 years old admitted that they have driven after drinking within the past 12 months, along with 64% of students at the age of 22 The same study showed that 25% of the students 21 years old said they have driven while intoxicated, as did 22% of the students who were 22 years of age 50% of the 22 year olds stated that they have been driven by an intoxicated driver, as well as 49% of the students who were 21 years old

Literature Review (Cont’d) What other Institutions are Doing Salve Regina University, in Newport RI has implemented a program which allows students to rent a designated Zipcar vehicle by the hour or by the day, and park it conveniently on campus. Trinity College of Connecticut provides a free “U-PASS card” to all students on the first day of school, that grants access to all Hartford busses and subways

Methodology Problem Identification Safe Rides efficiency and the prevalence of intoxicated driving on campus Arose from general knowledge among the team concerning student activity and transportation safety on the weekend Dissatisfaction with and avoidance of the Safe Rides Program among the student body has led to this study’s intention

Methodology (Cont’d) Development of Survey Created a 13 question survey that directly explored the level of student intoxication and frequency of intoxicated driving on an average weekend Consisted of 8 nominal, 4 ordinal, 1 ratio, and 1 open ended question Open ended question intended to gain constructive criticism on how the program could be improved from a student’s prospective

Methodology (Cont’d) Definition of Population Student body at Franklin Pierce University, in Rindge, NH Over 1,400 students at the time of data collection Sample Size Goal Sample Size: 160 students, 40 from each class, 20 of each gender Actual Sample Size: 172 students 50 Freshmen – 25M/25F 30 Sophomores – 15M/15F 32 Juniors – 20M/12F 60 Seniors – 32M/28F

Methodology (Cont’d) Data Collection Method A non-probability convenience sampling method was used Allowed us to determine which students to approach Made it easier for us to target certain demographics in order to reach our respondent quotas We remained nearby the respondent for any questions or clarification needed We handed out surveys in the cafeteria, residence halls, glass foyer area, and mailroom We collected data during the week of November 5 th through the 12 th

Methodology (Cont’d) Assumptions Operated under the assumption that all questionnaire respondents answered completely, honestly, and accurately Limitations Time constraints Prevented use of probability sampling method

Results

#9: In your opinion, how could the Safe Rides program be improved?

Cross-Tabulation #1 Are you aware of the Safe Rides program vs. What is your class standing? Count What is your class standing?Total FreshmanSophomoreJuniorSenior Are you aware of the Safe Rides program, which operates on Fridays and Saturdays from 10pm to 2am? Yes No Total

Cross-Tabulation #2 Have you ever driven under the influence of alcohol on campus during the weekend? vs. Where do you live?

Cross-Tabulation #3 Do you have a car on campus? vs. Please rate how convenient taking the shuttle is as a transportation method for getting around campus on the weekends.

Discussion The high rates of age 18 to 34 binge drinking reported by the Federal Centers For Disease Control in 2010 were supported by our team’s data Most students on campus reported consuming alcohol heavily (6+ drinks) on the weekends, based on our sample Our data also supported the Core Institute claim that nearly 73% of the students on most campuses drink alcohol at least occasionally

Discussion (Cont’d) Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly emphasized the hazard of drunk driving on college campuses and the respondents of our team’s questionnaire felt similarly The largest group of respondents felt that drunk driving is a serious issue during weekends on campus, which means more attention must be devoted towards increasing the safety of student transportation Our data data did not reflect the same prevalence of students admitting to driving after drinking or being driven by someone intoxicated, but they still reflected its presence on campus to a lesser degree May be correlated to students not feeling comfortable with revealing this personal information

Discussion (Cont’d) Results indirectly support the literature’s statement that alcohol-related risks take a significant upturn when students become of legal drinking age This is reflected in the extreme upturn in drinking at the Lakeview townhouses – occupied mostly by seniors who have reached this age.

Conclusions Research Objective #1: Assess the current literature related to college-age intoxicated driving, and transportation programs designed to ensure safety Completed this objective in our literature review Later compared the results to the research we compiled in order to determine similarities and discrepancies

Conclusions (Cont’d) Research Objective #2: Identify student opinions on the effectiveness of the current Safe Rides program offered on campus Over 80% of respondents felt that the Safe Rides program is either somewhat effective or very effective Many more than the amount of respondents who felt that it is not effective

Conclusions (Cont’d) Research Objective #3: Assess the transportation needs of Franklin Pierce University students who consume alcohol on the weekends Slight majority of students have a car on campus, those who do not still represent a significant percentage of student body – 45% judging from our sample Most respondents also reported that they either felt neutrally or consider taking the shuttle a convenient method of getting around campus on the weekends, proving that the transportation needs of students are at least addressed presently Our results also proved that while being addressed, the transportation program has room to improve judging from the 34 students who consider taking the shuttle on the weekend inconvenient

Conclusions (Cont’d) Research Objective #4: Determine student awareness of the program on campus Only 12 students of the 172 respondents stated that they were unaware of the Safe Rides program, and it can be assumed that they are now aware of it after being involved in our study

Recommendations More shuttle stop locations (full loop around campus) Have more than one shuttle running at a time Measure hourly shuttle activity throughout the day to determine when the shuttle is least active Make the shuttle schedule more efficient in order to make up for extra fuel consumption Implement campus safety ride-alongs in order to improve safety Implement an event in freshmen orientation to increase awareness for the program

References Beck, K. H., Kasperski, S. J., Caldeira, K. M., Vincent, K. B., O’Grady, K. E., & Arria, A. M. (2010). Trends in alcohol-related traffic risk behaviors among college students. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. doi: /j x College drinking - A few statistics. (2010). University of Oregon - Office of the Dean of Students. Retrieved October 9, 2012, from t.aspx Core alcohol and drug survey results. (2012, March 16). Southern Illinois University - Core Institute. Retrieved October 9, 2012, from Department of Campus Safety and Transportation. (2012). Franklin Pierce University. Retrieved November 17, 2012, from Drunk driving statistics. (2011). AlcoholAlert! Retrieved October 10, 2012, from statistics.html Drunk driving statistics - Accidents & deaths. (2012). Drunk Driving Statistics, Accidents & Deaths, National Statistics. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from usa.drinkdriving.org/dui_drunkdriving_statistics.php One in five college students admitted to drunk driving, study found. (2010, June 02). U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from news/family-health/childrens-health/articles/2010/06/02/1-in-5-college-students- admitted-to-drunk-driving-study-found Parking and transportation. (n.d.). Salve Regina University - Campus Life. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from Robert, F. S. (2011). Environmental approaches to prevention in college settings. Alcohol Research and Health, 34(2), Retrieved from A snapshot of annual high-risk college drinking consequences. (2010, July 1). College Drinking Prevention. Retrieved October 9, 2012, from Transportation. (n.d.). Trinity College, Hartford, CT. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from