FHWA Safety > Pedestrian Campaign > Research > Focus Groups

Development of Campaign Slogans

As part of the Federal Highway Administration's National Pedestrian Safety Engineering Outreach Campaign, LISBOA conducted research with members of the target audiences, both drivers and pedestrians. During the eight focus groups, possible slogans, themes, and concepts were discussed with the participants. In addition to evaluating the ideas that LISBOA developed, many group members offered their own ideas.

Statistics

1. 5,000 pedestrians are killed each year in traffic accidents.

• "It's just a fact. I have no personal attachment to it."
• "What really moved me is the home movie of the kid killed by a drunk driver, and then the number of children killed each year by drunk drivers."
• "It's not clear."
• "That number is low."
• "What is a pedestrian crash?"

• "It's not a lot. Not a high number."
• "People have to keep their eyes open. That could be one of their family members."
• "That gets my attention. You wouldn't think that many get killed."
• "Have a driver who hit someone talk about how upset she was."

2.      100,000 pedestrians are injured each year in traffic accidents.

• "I think statistics alone don't work. You expect the numbers to be large because it's a big world."
• "We are always bombarded with statistics. It all blurs together."
• "More impactful."

3.      Every 7 minutes a pedestrian is killed or injured in a traffic accident.

• "That brings it down to a more manageable level."
• "That's better."
• "I think this is the most effective, but it would be even more forceful if you changed it 'A pedestrian is hit every 7 minutes.'"
• "Follow that up 7 minutes later with 'another one just died.'" [They thought that approach would be more thought provoking than just the statistic.]
• "It is easier to understand '7 minutes' than '100,000 killed or injured pedestrians.'"

• "It's a smaller number."
• "It puts things into more perspective."
• "It's strange to think of it that way."

Slogans Tested

1.      Take responsibility for yourself. Be safe, be smart, be seen.

• "Doesn't do anything for me."
• "It's vague."
• "Maybe if you put something graphic in it."

• "It's dry, bland, too long."
• "The last part is good."

2.      Make it a joint responsibility.

• "I thought it was about drugs."
• "Safe sex."
• "I think drugs or passing responsibility from the driver to the pedestrian."

3.      Speed less, yield more.

• "It's a good idea."
• "No, not catchy."
• "A lot of foreign people, or kids, don't know what 'yield' means."

• "Not as catchy."

4.      We're in this together.

• "The first one is starting to sound better now."

5.      Make sure drivers see you.

• "Nah."

6.      Be courteous, be safe / Be careful, be safe.

• "No."

7.      Stay alert: You never know who you might run into.

Drivers and pedestrians liked this slogan. It was the second most popular choice.

• "Yes!"
• "You could have a guy talking on the phone and then he hits his mom or grandmother."
• "[You could use] a child in a crosswalk, a parent and child, or a child chasing a ball across the street."
• "I like using the driver's perspective of the steering wheel and windshield."
• "Shocking images, such as body bags, could work.
• "It could be someone famous. A supermodel, or Kobe Bryant."

8.      They won't bounce back from this one.

• "It could be a good visual."
• "It sounds too off the wall."

• "I can see someone getting hit and smashed."
• "Show a scene with baby shoes laying around."
• "Don't show a kid."
• "People pay attention to kids."

• "It reminds me of a sports team."

9.      Why didn't the kid cross the street? To get to the other side safely.

• "No."

10.  (Video game PSA concept) There is no reset button in your car.

• "It could be good, depending on the visual."
• "Good."

11.  Think of the impact you could make.

The respondents liked this slogan the best.

• "It goes both ways."
• "Have you ever seen a car that was hit by a pedestrian? The damage?"
• "You could show the [emotional] impact on the family.

• "You could show a funeral."
• "Show the repercussions - how it affects the family."
• "You must be emotionally distraught after killing someone."
• "It could be effective."

12.  Go Retro and Get Noticed.

• "I hear this "Go Retro" - I think of everything other than reflective wear. It's associated with a predominantly different subject matter than you're going for."
• "Clothing, music . . . young kids, being mislead"
• "24 hour parties" and "paint."
• "I never knew it was called retro-reflective wear, I don't think most people know that it's called that. When you say "retro" that's not what I think of."
• "I don't know what 'retro' is, I would think 70s."
• "Yeah, I don't know what that is."
• "I don't think that works at all."
• "I didn't know [retro-reflective wear] was called that."
• "I had no idea what retro-reflective wear is."
• "I'd call it 'that shiny stuff.'"
• "Retro is a catchy term for something that is not catchy yet."
• "I don't think it's a term people are up on."

Slogan suggestions

• "Pay attention."
• "Look and learn."
• "Live and learn."
• "You're not invincible."
• "Look both ways - all of the actions you're doing are pertaining to your eyes."
• "It's the two sides of the street."
• "You've got to protect yourself."
• "Mutual Respect" (Drivers and pedestrians being mutually respectful of each other.)
• "Respect goes both ways." (Drivers and pedestrians working together for a safe trip.)
• "Be a traffic survivor."
• "Pedestrians have the right of way."
• "Chill out."
• "Obey the lights & make sure your judgment is right."
• "It's your life - obey the light."
• "Drivers - Don't trust them."
• "Light up the night - wear reflective clothing."
• "Go With The Glow."
• "It's your time to shine."
• "Retro - it reflects on your life."

Suggested Ideas

• "The message should be witty and unexpected."
• "Irony is good."
• "Shocking and surprising messages are effective."
• "A car careening around a corner and screeching to a halt would get my attention." [Followed by a] "'thank you' from the person who didn't get hit."
• "Show a guy looking through his CD's and then hitting someone. We've all looked for something in the car."
• [Show the scene from the pedestrian's perspective,]" the image of being hit by a car."
• "When I first got my license, I was 16 and had no appreciation for how deadly a car can be. So, one night I was making a turn and I heard someone yell and I drove into a traffic light. It's not until you actually have an impact . . . until something goes wrong and you have an impact that you realize how heavy a car is and how hard it is to stop."
• "Someone is driving along and has an accident, the reality of it is very un-glamorous. . . that definitely makes an impression."
• "You need to target new drivers especially who aren't really aware of the damage cars can do . . . they are a loaded gun."
• "Caution - driving is dangerous."
• "A light is not worth a life."
• "Show the Beatles in the crosswalk."
• "Show Michael Jordan walking across the crosswalk. . . well, 'you'd pay attention to Michael Jordan, why wouldn't you pay attention to 'Joe Shmoe?'"
• "Even as a driver, you're a pedestrian at some point, so you have a trust that people will be driving carefully. Without your car, you're a pedestrian."
• "Use an image of someone who looks like they're driving, but it's just air around them. There's no car actually there."
• "A car is this much metal and steel and if you threw that at somebody they'd be in big trouble."
• "If you said, a car kills more than X, you'd go 'Wow.'"
• "Instead of trying to show damage of metal hitting a person, show how much the impact of a hammer would be and compare that to a car hitting a person. Use something that everyone can relate to."