Focus Group Pedestrians 1
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."
4.
We're in this together.
- "The
first one is starting to sound better now."
5.
Make sure drivers see you.
6.
Be courteous, be safe / Be careful, be safe.
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.
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."