Promoting Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety to Hispanic Audiences

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Executive Summary

The objectives of this FHWA/NHTSA project include: (1) the development of a plan for marketing pedestrian and bicycle safety issues/concerns to different Hispanic populations in the United States and (2) the development of materials in different formats that will be used to promote pedestrian and bicycle safety issues in the Hispanic community. This marketing plan presents the recommendations about the audience, the safety issues to be addressed, the types and format of messages, the media, and the potential methods of dissemination of the outreach materials. Also included in this marketing plan are the results of the background research conducted in the development of the marketing plan.

The following recommendations are based on the research conducted for this project:

1. There are multiple audiences that may be more at risk as pedestrians or bicyclists. These may be groups that should be targeted by pedestrian/bicycle campaigns or by word-of-mouth marketing:

  • New immigrants.
  • Mexican males (Hispanics of Mexican origin compose roughly two-thirds of all fatalities among Hispanic pedestrians and bicyclists. Among all Hispanics, about 67 percent of pedestrian fatalities and 89 percent of bicyclist fatalities occurred to males.). (1)
  • Children (especially bicyclists ages 10-15 and pedestrians ages 5-9). (2, 3)
  • Seniors (especially bicyclists ages 70-79 and pedestrians age 70 and over). (2, 3)
  • Male members of the household (e.g., fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers).
  • Entire family.

2. Recommended pedestrian and bicycle safety issues to be included in the outreach campaigns have been split into the following two categories:

  • Educational issues.
  • Informational issues.

While there is a fine line between educational and informational issues, educational issues focus more on teaching the audience rules and regulations that they are expected to follow and how these rules and regulations are enforced in the U.S. Informational issues focus more on issues such as what it takes to be a safe pedestrian or bicyclist (e.g., always use a crosswalk, push the call button to receive the pedestrian signal, always look left-right-left before crossing the street).

3. Messages about pedestrian and bicycle safety for Hispanic audiences should:

  • Focus on the value of family and impact on family.
  • Be realistic, with relationships to their lives.
  • Have an emotional component (e.g., graphic and explicit descriptions of crashes), but should not be overly frightening or use "scare tactics."

4. For formatting and distribution purposes, it is recommended that these messages:

  • Use graphics, photos, and other visuals.
  • Be concise, not too wordy, and written for low literacy level.
  • Be clear and free of jargon.

Rather than focusing on one type of media, the use of a variety of materials, so that messages are seen and heard in a variety of places, is recommended. The recommended media to be included in an outreach campaign include:

  • Television (TV).
  • Radio.
  • Newspaper.
  • Magazines.
  • Brochures/flyers/handouts.

It should be noted that the use of Hispanic media is important. Many Hispanics watch only Spanish TV, listen to only Spanish radio stations, and/or read only Spanish newspapers and magazines. Therefore, using only mainstream media may not reach some of the target audience; however, caution should be taken in providing only Spanish-language materials, as many second generation Hispanics prefer to speak and read English. Thus, it is recommended that the materials be bilingual.

5. One of the most important recommendations from the research is that materials alone cannot change behavior. Due to the importance of family and community in the Hispanic culture, commitment to safety practices is more likely to occur when:

  • The materials are used in combination with at least one community outreach activity.
  • Multiple activities are held within the community.
  • Respected leaders of the community, as well as family members, reinforce the messages through person-to-person contact and word-of-mouth campaigns.

With these recommendations in mind, Table ES-1 connects the audience (the who), the issues and types of messages (the what), the media (the how), and the methods of dissemination (the where). For example, if children are the focus of a safety campaign, issues could be educational and/or informational; messages should focus on the value of family; and posters, handouts, and comics are media that should be disseminated at schools with person-to-person contact via teachers, administrators, or other authority figures. TV is also a recommended medium for information dissemination and could be used in addition to the print media distributed at schools. As many Latinos may not fully trust the government or large institutions, more appropriate venues for disseminating materials include churches, clinics, and community centers. (4)

Safety campaigns should be tailored to fit the needs of each community. This will help determine whether educational or informational issues are most important.

Table ES-1. Connecting the Who, What, How, and Where of Marketing Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety to Hispanic Audiences
Audience
(Who?)		 Issues
(What?)		 Messages
(What?)		 Materials/Media
(How?)		 Methods of Dissemination
(Where?)
New immigrants Educational & Informational Value of family
Impact on family
Emotional component
Relates to their lives 		Hispanic TV and radio stations*
Hispanic newspapers and magazines*
Brochures, flyers, handouts 		Hispanic TV and radio stations*
Hispanic newspapers and magazines*
Public transit stations
Supermarkets
Churches
Mexican males Educational & Informational Value of family
Impact on family
Emotional component
Relates to their life
 TV and radio stations*
Newspapers and magazines*
Brochures, flyers, handouts		 TV and radio stations*
Newspapers and magazines*
Motor vehicle offices
Public transit stations
Supermarkets
Children Educational & Informational Value of family Hispanic TV*
Posters, handouts, comics
Person-to-person contact
 Hispanic TV*
Schools (teachers, administrators, authority figures)
Seniors Educational & Informational Value of family
Emotional component
Relates to their life		 Hispanic TV and radio stations*
Brochures, flyers, handouts
Person-to-person contact		 Hispanic TV and radio stations*
Community centers
Senior centers
Churches
Male members of the household Educational & Informational Value of family
Emotional component
Impact on family
Relates to their life
 TV and radio stations*
Newspapers and magazines*
Brochures, flyers, handouts		 TV and radio stations*
Newspapers and magazines*
Motor vehicle offices
Entire family Educational & Informational Value of family
Emotional component
Impact on family
Relates to their life		 Brochures, flyers, handouts, games
Person-to-person contact		 Special events, holidays, community activities
Soccer games
Churches
* While much of the findings point towards Spanish-language TV, radio, and print media, the researchers recognize that this may not be exclusive for each group. "According to a Texas media representative, Spanish radio and TV are the most effective media for reaching Hispanic audiences. Spanish television reaches most of the younger generation, since they do not read newspapers. However, Hispanics who are 30 to 40 years of age are best reached through the English media. The media representative mentioned studies showing that although many Hispanics in Texas speak Spanish, only a small percentage of long-term residents read it. Translations are often so badly done that given a choice of reading a newspaper in English or reading the Spanish translation, approximately 8 out of 10 Hispanics would choose to read the English version. According to the media representative, the affinity for reading English is particularly strong in second generation Hispanics because they were penalized as children if they spoke Spanish in Texas schools."(7)

 

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Program Contact

Tamara Redmon

202-366-4077

Dick Schaffer

202-366-2176

What’s New

The FHWA Safety Office is continually developing new materials to assist states, localities and citizens in improving pedestrian and bicycle safety. The materials listed on this page were completed recently.

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Pedestrian Safety Strategic Plan