Driving Safety Home on Roosevelt Boulevard August, 2009

Overview Roosevelt Boulevard is a 12- mile long, 12-lane highway in Philadelphia, PA The Boulevard carries more than 100,000 vehicles a day The Boulevard has been the scene of nearly 3,000 crashes and more than 55 fatalities from 2003 to 2007 Qualitative and quantitative research conducted before PennDOT’s public information/education campaign showed: –Most drivers and pedestrians considered the Boulevard a valuable roadway, yet also “crazy, dangerous, and busy” –Blamed crashes on “other” careless drivers and pedestrian actions

Challenge To educate the community on the importance of vehicular and pedestrian safety along Roosevelt Boulevard in a manner that influences positive attitude and behavioral changes. Specific objectives included: Curb aggressive driving and reduce crashes and fatalities Create public awareness and adoption of proper highway safety measures Involve local citizens/community to produce goodwill

Solution Implement a comprehensive, integrated educational campaign that is grounded in qualitative and quantitative research and is geared toward travelers of the Boulevard. Ages – motorists, pedestrians, SEPTA mass transit riders Ages – the largest concentration of drivers that use the Boulevard for shopping, dining, entertainment and everyday needs Ages 65+ – citizens who try to avoid the Boulevard as much as possible

Solution PennDOT’s campaign components included: Radio: Two paid advertising spots, one targeting the segment and one targeting 25+, that ran on two major Philadelphia radio stations (KYW- AM; WYSP-FM) Both :30 and :10 second public service announcement radio spots on two major Philadelphia radio stations (KYW-AM; WYSP-FM) :45 second “advertorials” called “Tuesday’s on the Boulevard” on KYW-AM featuring weekly Boulevard safety tips and interviews with PennDOT and Philadelphia Police Department officials and a local congresswoman Print: Continued presence in local newspapers including Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Metro, and Northeast Times – including a two page full-color cover wrap in the Metro. Outdoor: Advertising elements along Roosevelt Boulevard were displayed on SEPTA bus tails, billboards, posters and bus shelters.

Solution Campaign components continued… Online: Micro-site on KYW and WYSP featuring Boulevard safety tips Banner advertisements on KYW and WYSP leading to micro-site Safety podcasts housed on KYW’s homepage was developed to promote safety and provide community members with easily accessible information and safety tips. Public Relations: A significant media relations campaign was implemented with two press conferences and media opportunities to garner news coverage and campaign attention. Community Relations: More than 7,500 community residents were reached via community meetings, Boulevard fact sheets, Boulevard safety tip cards, and Boulevard ads in local program books and newsletters.

Solution Cover Wrap Bus TailsPosters

Solution Bus Shelters Print Ads Billboards Tip Cards

Results Since the campaign commenced: –Fatalities on the Boulevard were down by more than 50 percent in 2008 as compared to the previous year due in some part to a comprehensive safety program, which included PennDOT’s public information/education campaign that launched in late September 2008 –PennDOT’s integrated communications campaign received 121 million impressions. The campaign reached 93% of adults in our target market an average of 34 times Impressions = the percentage of people reached X the average number of times a person was exposed to the campaign efforts –Combined, these numbers doubled initial projections. More importantly, post-campaign quantitative research demonstrated statistically significant changes in consumer behavior

Results Post campaign research showed: –People are more likely to take action after seeing/hearing the safety messages –Significantly impacted those aged 16-24, who now believe that crashes can be prevented and it is only safe to cross where designated –Community members are less likely to cross the Boulevard at unauthorized locations