Highway death toll messages cause more crashes

Date:
April 21, 2022
Source:
University of Minnesota
Summary:
Displaying the highway death toll on message boards is a common
awareness campaign, but new research shows this tactic actually
leads to more crashes. This new study evaluated the effect of
displaying crash death totals on highway message boards (e.g.,
'1669 deaths this year on Texas roads'). Versions of highway
fatality messages have been displayed in at least 27 US states.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Displaying the highway death toll on message boards is a common awareness campaign, but new research from the University of Toronto and University
of Minnesota shows this tactic actually leads to more crashes.


==========================================================================
A new study in Scienceby University of Toronto Assistant Professor
Jonathan D.

Hall and U of M Carlson School of Management Assistant Professor Joshua
Madsen evaluated the effect of displaying crash death totals on highway
message boards (e.g., "1669 deaths this year on Texas roads"). Versions
of highway fatality messages have been displayed in at least 27 US states.

Their study focuses on Texas, where officials chose to display these
messages only one week each month. The researchers compared crash data
from before the campaign (Jan. 2010 -- July 2012) to after it started
(Aug. 2012 -- Dec. 2017) as well as examined the weekly differences
within each month during the campaign. They found:
* There were more crashes during the week with fatality messaging
compared
to weeks without.

* Displaying a fatality message increased the number of crashes over
the 10
km (6.21 mi) following the message boards by 4.5%. This increase is
comparable to raising the speed limit 3-5 mph or reducing highway
troopers by 6-14%, according to previous research.

* Their findings suggest fatality messages cause an additional 2,600
crashes and 16 deaths per year in Texas, costing $377 million
each year.

* The researchers suggest this "in-your-face" messaging approach
weighs
down drivers' "cognitive loads," temporarily impacting their
ability to respond to changes in traffic conditions.

"Driving on a busy highway [and] having to navigate lane changes is
more cognitively demanding than driving down a straight stretch of empty highway," said Madsen. "People have limited attention. When a driver's cognitive load is already maxed out, adding on an attention-grabbing,
sobering reminder of highway deaths [can] become a dangerous distraction."
The researchers found the bigger the number in the fatality message,
the more harmful the effects. The number of additional crashes each
month increased as the death toll rose throughout the year, with the
most additional crashes occurring in January when the message stated
the annual total. They also found that crashes increased in areas where
drivers experienced higher cognitive loads, such as heavy traffic or
driving past multiple message boards.

"The messages also increased the number of multi-vehicle crashes, but
not single-vehicle crashes," said Hall. "This is in line with drivers
with increased cognitive loads making smaller errors due to distraction,
like drifting out of a lane, rather than driving off the road." However,
the researchers found there was a reduction in crashes when the displayed
death tolls were low and when the message appeared where the highways
were less complex. Madsen says this suggests that at times the messaging
was not as taxing on drivers' attention.

While the use of highway fatality messaging varies by state, Madsen says agencies should consider alternative ways to raise awareness.

"Distracted driving is dangerous driving," said Madsen. "Perhaps these campaigns can be reimagined to reach drivers in a safer way, such as
when they are stopped at an intersection, so that their attention while
driving remains focused on the roads." This research was supported by
the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the
European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Minnesota. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jonathan D. Hall, Joshua M. Madsen. Can behavioral interventions
be too
salient? Evidence from traffic safety messages. Science, 2022;
376 (6591) DOI: 10.1126/science.abm3427 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220421141535.htm

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