Truck Safety: Share the Road Safely Program Needs Better
Evaluation of Its Initiatives (30-MAY-03, GAO-03-680).
From 1992 through 2001, more than 50,000 people were killed in
crashes involving large commercial trucks. Although more than
6,800 of these fatalities were truck occupants, approximately
40,000 were passengers in other vehicles and more than 4,000 were
nonmotorists. The Department of Transportation's Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) conducts a number of truck
safety programs, including the Share the Road Safely program,
whose goal is to educate the public about driving safely around
large trucks. GAO examined (1) whether the program's initiatives
are linked to this goal and (2) how FMCSA evaluates its Share the
Road Safely program. GAO recommends that the Department of
Transportation (DOT) ensure that the Share the Road Safely
program initiatives are directly linked to the program's goal and
establish a systematic
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-03-680
ACCNO: A07050
TITLE: Truck Safety: Share the Road Safely Program Needs Better
Evaluation of Its Initiatives
DATE: 05/30/2003
SUBJECT: Highway safety
Internal controls
Motor vehicle safety
Program evaluation
DOT Share the Road Safely Program
Large Truck Crash Causation Study
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GAO-03-680
Report to Congressional Committees
United States General Accounting Office
GAO
May 2003 TRUCK SAFETY Share the Road Safely Program Needs Better
Evaluation of Its Initiatives
GAO- 03- 680
The Share the Road Safely program*s goal is designed to educate the
motoring public on how to share the road safely with commercial motor
vehicles. To accomplish this goal, the program has undertaken a number of
public education and information dissemination initiatives including a
series of new initiatives beginning in 2000. Some initiatives, such as
incorporating the program*s messages into state driver education manuals
or developing share the road messages specifically targeted to certain
types of drivers, pedestrians or motorcyclists, are clearly linked to the
program*s goal. However, for a few other initiatives, such as directing
program messages to elementary schoolchildren, the linkage is less clear.
Research currently under way in the Department of
Transportation may enable the program to link its initiatives to the most
significant causes of truck/ car crashes. Many highway safety experts
agree that public education efforts to increase safe driving around large
trucks are more likely to produce substantial changes in drivers*
behaviors if they are combined with other safety initiatives, such as
local law enforcement programs. Share the Road Safely has recently begun
to pilot test such a program.
FMCSA evaluations of the Share the Road Safely program have provided some
information about the program but have not convincingly demonstrated
accomplishment of the program*s intended outcomes:
changes in drivers* knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. FMCSA has the
opportunity to adopt a new evaluation strategy for its recent initiatives,
for example, by using evaluation practices adopted by other federally
sponsored information dissemination programs to improve its evaluation of
the program.
Collision Involving Passenger Vehicles and Large Commercial Trucks
From 1992 through 2001, more than 50,000 people were killed in crashes
involving large commercial trucks. Although more than 6,800 of these
fatalities were truck occupants, approximately 40,000 were passengers in
other vehicles and more than 4,000 were nonmotorists. The Department of
Transportation*s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(FMCSA) conducts a number of truck safety programs, including the Share
the Road Safely program, whose goal is to educate the public about driving
safely around large
trucks. GAO examined (1) whether the program*s initiatives are linked to
this goal and (2) how FMCSA evaluates its Share the Road Safely program.
GAO recommends that the Department of Transportation (DOT) ensure that the
Share the Road Safely program initiatives are directly linked to the
program*s goal and establish a systematic process for evaluating the
effectiveness of the program. DOT generally agreed with our
recommendations.
www. gao. gov/ cgi- bin/ getrpt? GAO- 03- 680. To view the full report,
including the scope and methodology, click on the link above. For more
information, contact Kate Siggerud (202) 512- 2834 or siggerudk@ gao. gov.
Highlights of GAO- 03- 680, a report to
Congressional Committees
May 2003
TRUCK SAFETY
Share the Road Safely Program Needs Better Evaluation of Its Initiatives
Page i GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety Letter 1 Results in Brief 3 Background 4
Many Share the Road Safely Program Initiatives Are Linked to the Program*s
Goal but a Few Lack Clear Linkage 10 Evaluations by FMCSA Provided Little
Information on the
Effectiveness of the Share the Road Program 13 Conclusion 18
Recommendations for Executive Action 18 Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
19 Figures
Figure 1: Number of Vehicle Occupants Killed in Large Truck Crashes by
Vehicle Type (1992 - 2001) 5 Figure 2: No- Zones, or Blind Spots, around a
Large Commercial
Truck 7 Figure 3: Share the Road Safely Program Funding (Fiscal Year 1992
* 2003) 9 Abbreviations
DOT Department of Transportation FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration FHWA Federal Highway Administration NHTSA National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration TEA- 21 Transportation Equity Act for the 21
st Century Contents
This is a work of the U. S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in
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separately.
Page 1 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety May 30, 2003 The Honorable Ernest Istook,
Jr. Chairman
The Honorable John W. Olver Ranking Minority Member Subcommittee on
Transportation, Treasury,
and Independent Agencies Committee on Appropriations House of
Representatives
The Honorable Richard Shelby Chairman The Honorable Patty Murray Ranking
Minority Member Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury,
and General Government Committee on Appropriations United States Senate
In 2001, there were 42,116 people killed on our nation*s roads, and
3,033,000 people were injured. About 12 percent (5, 082) of the fatalities
and 4 percent (131,000) of the injuries occurred in collisions involving
large commercial trucks. 1 The majority of these crashes were collisions
between passenger vehicles 2 and large commercial trucks; and, in such
crashes, the occupants of passenger vehicles are more than 15 times more
likely to be killed than truck occupants. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA) recently set a goal to cut the fatality rate in
large truck- related crashes by more than 40 percent, from its 1996 level
by 2008. FMCSA*s Share the Road Safely program is designed to assist this
effort by educating the motoring public on how to share the road safely
with
1 A large commercial truck is defined as a truck with gross weight rating
greater than 10, 001 pounds. 2 For the purpose of this report, we are
using the term passenger vehicle( s) to include cars, pickup trucks, sport
utility vehicles, vans, and motorcycles. Passenger vehicles have a gross
weight rating less than 10, 001 pounds.
United States General Accounting Office Washington, DC 20548
Page 2 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety commercial motor vehicles. 3 The program,
established in 1994, initially attempted to publicize the dangers of
driving unsafely around large trucks to the general public. In 2000, the
program refocused its efforts toward all
highways users with more specific messages for targeted audiences
including car and truck drivers, senior drivers, and new or problem
drivers. 4 The House report accompanying the Department of Transportation
and
Related Agencies Appropriations bill for 2003 directed us to evaluate the
effectiveness of the Share the Road Safely program and submit the study to
the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. 5 We examined (1)
whether the program*s initiatives are linked to its goal to educate the
public about driving safely in and around large commercial trucks and (2)
how FMCSA evaluates the program*s effectiveness.
To determine whether the program*s initiatives are linked to its goal, we
obtained information from FMCSA officials, including representatives from
Safety Action Programs, the office responsible for Share the Road Safely,
and other relevant FMCSA offices. We interviewed officials from the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as well as various
external stakeholders and highway safety researchers. We reviewed program
documents, including budget allocations from 1992 through 2003, for the
Share the Road Safely program and other FMCSA safety programs. To
determine how FMCSA evaluates its Share the Road Safely program, we
reviewed evaluations performed by FMCSA as well as publications from NHTSA
and GAO that describe evaluation criteria appropriate for use in
evaluating public information dissemination programs such as the Share the
Road Safely program. We conducted our review from January 2003 through May
2003 in accordance with generally accepted government audit standards.
3 *Commercial motor vehicles* includes buses as well as trucks, but nearly
all the program*s initiatives have addressed driving behavior around
trucks. In this report, we use the term *truck* unless buses are
explicitly included in a specific program initiative. 4 Before 2000, the
program was called *Share the Road.* Since 2000, FMCSA has used the term
*Share the Road Safely* in part to indicate this shift in strategy. In
this report, we generally use the term *Share the Road Safely,* except
where it is necessary to distinguish the pre- 2000 program from its
successor program.
5 H. R. Rep. No. 107- 722, at 104 (2002).
Page 3 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety Several of the Share the Road Safely
program*s initiatives, such as incorporating Share the Road Safely
messages into state driver education
manuals and directing its messages to specific audiences, like pedestrians
or motorcyclists, appear to be directly linked to the program*s goal, as
established in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of
1991, of educating the motoring public on how to share the road safely
with commercial motor vehicles. However, the linkage between the program
goal and a few other program initiatives, such as providing the Share the
Road Safely message to schoolchildren, is not as clear and direct.
Research currently under way in the Department of Transportation (DOT) may
enable FMCSA to direct program initiatives to ensure its initiatives are
linked to the most significant causes of truck/ car crashes, such as
speeding or unsafe lane changes. Many highway safety officials and
researchers agree that public education efforts alone are unlikely to
produce substantial changes in drivers* behaviors unless they are coupled
with other safety initiatives, such as local enforcement programs to
increase compliance with traffic laws. According to a FMCSA official,
although the agency has not combined education and enforcement efforts in
the past, it recently began a pilot of such a combined effort. For
example, in keeping with this new approach, FMCSA has recently targeted
six high- crash highway corridors to pilot an initiative that will combine
local outreach through radio, television, and outdoor advertising, safety
partnerships with local authorities and brochures with targeted police
activity to deter unsafe driving in and around large trucks.
FMCSA has not evaluated the effectiveness of initiatives implemented since
2000, and its evaluations of earlier program initiatives provide only
limited information. FMCSA has issued three reports about the program*s
earlier initiatives that attempted to measure changes in the general
public*s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about driving around large
commercial trucks. These evaluations provide some information on the
program*s activities and on how familiar drivers were with some concepts
and behaviors promoted by the program, such as avoiding driving in large
trucks* *blind spots.* However, these evaluations could not determine the
program*s effectiveness for the following reasons:
The evaluations relied heavily on self- reports of attitude and behavior
change that are subject to biased responses.
Because FMCSA did not have a baseline of driver knowledge and behavior
before program initiatives were implemented, it could not determine the
extent to which intended changes in behavior occurred. Results in Brief
Page 4 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety FMCSA could not determine whether any
changes in driving behavior or the frequency of car/ truck crashes were
attributable to program initiatives
or to other influences. FMCSA believes that funding pilot program
initiatives that are directed at specific target audiences (for example,
senior citizens) in smaller geographic areas will enable FMCSA to more
accurately measure the initiative*s effects on drivers* knowledge,
attitude, and behaviors and determine whether the program has contributed
to reducing the number of car/ truck crashes. Other federally sponsored
information dissemination programs similar to the Share the Road Safely
program, including some sponsored by other parts of DOT, have used various
strategies to improve their evaluations* such as measuring targeted
knowledge, attitude, and behavior changes before and after program
exposure to assess change. FMCSA could use these or similar strategies to
enhance future evaluations
of Share the Road Safely. We are recommending that the Secretary of
Transportation direct FMCSA to improve its strategic approach to the Share
the Road Safely program by linking its activities more directly to its
goals and establishing a systematic process for evaluating the
effectiveness of the program. DOT officials commented on a draft of this
report and generally agreed with our recommendations.
Although fatalities resulting from crashes involving large commercial
trucks have decreased in recent years (see fig. 1), this improvement may
be difficult to sustain as more people and goods are moved throughout the
nation. From 1992 through 2001, there were 50,375 6 people killed in large
truck crashes. Of this total, 6,811 were large truck occupants while
39,516 7 were people in other types of vehicles, and 4,048 8 were
nonmotorists.
Figure 1 shows the number of passenger vehicle and large truck occupants 6
This figure includes passengers in cars, light trucks, large commercial
trucks, and on motorcycles, and nonmotorists but excludes bus passengers
and those fatalities classified by FMCSA as *other/ unknown.* 7 This
figure includes passengers in cars and light trucks, and on motorcycles
but excludes bus passengers and those fatalities classified by FMCSA as
*other/ unknown.* 8 This figure includes pedestrians and pedalcyclists but
excludes those fatalities classified by FMCSA as *other/ unknown.*
Background
Page 5 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety killed in passenger vehicle and large
truck collisions from 1992 through 2001.
Figure 1: Number of Vehicle Occupants Killed in Large Truck Crashes by
Vehicle Type (1992 - 2001)
Concerned with the number of crashes between passenger vehicles and large
commercial trucks, Congress recognized the need to educate the general
motoring public about certain characteristics of large commercial trucks
and their operation. With the enactment of the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, Congress directed the Secretary of
Transportation to educate the motoring public about how to share the
Page 6 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety road safely with large commercial trucks
and authorized at least $350,000 for fiscal years 1992 through 1997 for
this purpose. 9 Through public outreach and education, in the early 1990s,
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) began exploring ways to decrease the
number of passenger vehicle and large commercial truck crashes and
ultimately reduce injuries and fatalities. FHWA sponsored focus group
studies conducted with passenger vehicle drivers, the highway safety
community, and trucking industry officials to determine the concerns of
the public about large commercial truck safety. Passenger vehicle drivers
who participated in these group discussions mentioned the size and weight
of heavy trucks, truck drivers* aggressiveness, effects of truckdriver
fatigue, and traffic congestion as some safety concerns. Passenger vehicle
drivers also reported feeling outmatched by the size and weight of large
commercial trucks and said that truck drivers drive too fast, too far, and
too many hours without proper rest to be safe. They cited the mixing of
large commercial trucks and other vehicles in congested traffic conditions
and inclement weather as major concerns. FHWA*s analysis of the focus
group studies indicated that the number of crashes involving passenger
vehicles and large commercial trucks might be reduced if motorists
understood the special characteristics of large commercial trucks, such as
longer braking distances and larger blind spots.
In 1992, in response to Congress* concerns and in support of FHWA*s goal
of reducing highway fatalities, FHWA began to develop a national public
service highway safety program called *Share the Road* to educate
passenger vehicle drivers on how to share the road safely with large
commercial trucks. The Share the Road program was the first public
information dissemination program intended to alert passenger vehicle
drivers about blind spots or *no- zones* around a large commercial truck
in which the truck driver*s visibility is limited.
The first phase of the program was popularly known as the *No- Zone
Campaign.* This campaign was designed to increase passenger vehicle
drivers* awareness of commercial drivers* visibility limitations in an
effort to influence the passenger vehicle drivers* behavior and thus
decrease the
number of crashes involving passenger vehicles and large commercial 9 In
1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA- 21)
included the same requirement to educate the motoring public on how to
share the road safely with commercial motor vehicles, but TEA- 21
authorized at least $500,000 to be appropriated from the Highway Trust
Fund for fiscal years 1998 through 2003.
Page 7 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety trucks and, ultimately, reduce
fatalities, injuries, and property damage. Figure 2 shows no- zones, or
blind spots, around a large commercial truck.
Figure 2: No- Zones, or Blind Spots, around a Large Commercial Truck
On January 1, 2000, FMCSA was established within DOT pursuant to the Motor
Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, and its mission was to reduce the
number and severity of large- truck involved crashes. FMCSA became
responsible for developing and implementing initiatives for the Share the
Road program as well as other commercial vehicle safety programs. FMCSA
changed the focus of the Share the Road program from a public outreach
initiative emphasizing the No- Zone Campaign to a discrete program within
its Safety Actions Program Division and renamed it *Share the Road
Safely.* The Share the Road Safely program is intended to target all
highway users 10 to increase their awareness about the inherent danger of
driving in and around large commercial trucks and modify driver behaviors.
FMCSA officials believe that through education and outreach to specific
target audiences, highway users will be persuaded to change their behavior
with the eventual result being a reduction in commercial motor
vehicle crashes. Consequently, the program has begun educational
initiatives directed at such discrete audiences as senior drivers, new or
problem drivers, commercial motor vehicle drivers, school trip planners,
and drivers in specific geographic areas.
The Share the Road Safely program is a small part of a group of truck
safety programs administered by FMCSA to reduce large commercial truck-
related injuries and fatalities. In 2003, FMCSA set an overall goal of
reducing the rate of large commercial truck- related fatalities from the
1996 rate of 2.8 fatalities per 100 million truck miles traveled to 1.65
fatalities
10 Include pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers of commercial vehicles,
cars, motorcyclists, and recreational vehicles.
Page 8 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety per 100 million truck miles traveled by
2008. 11 FMCSA programs are intended to contribute to this goal by
addressing safety in motor carrier
operations through identifying and enforcing safety regulations that
target high- risk carriers and large commercial truck drivers, improving
safety information systems and commercial motor vehicle technologies,
strengthening commercial motor vehicle equipment and operating standards,
and increasing safety awareness. According to agency officials, FMCSA
coordinates its programs with other federal, state, and local enforcement
agencies, the motor carrier industry, highway safety advocacy groups, and
others.
The fiscal year 2003 funding for the Share the Road Safely program
represents less than 1 percent of FMCSA*s total budget. From fiscal year
1992 through 2003, about $6.8 million, or an average of $569,000 per year,
was spent on the program. 12 Figure 3 illustrates the funding for the
Share the Road Safely program since its inception in fiscal year 1992.
11 In 1999, DOT had set a goal of reducing large commercial truck- related
fatalities by 50 percent, from 5, 380 to 2,690, by the year 2010.
According to FMCSA officials, the agency revised its goal to better align
it with the DOT Highway Safety performance goal and FHWA and NHTSA
measures.
12 From fiscal year 1992 through fiscal year 1999, the program*s
initiatives were funded primarily in the form of grants through the Motor
Carrier Safety Assistance Program. However, since fiscal year 2000 the
program*s budget has come primarily as a $500,000 annual *pass through*
funding from NHTSA; other funding* about $125,000 annually*
comes through funding from the Research and Technology Office.
Page 9 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety Figure 3: Share the Road Safely Program
Funding (Fiscal Year 1992 * 2003)
Note: TEA- 21 directed the Secretary of Transportation to obligate
$500,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2003 for the Share the Road
program. However, the program did not receive these funds in fiscal year
1998 because the funding had already been committed by the time the act
was
passed in June 1998.
According to FMCSA officials, the agency partners with public and private
organizations nationwide to promote the Share the Road Safely program*s
mission, pool safety ideas and resources, and minimize the duplication of
efforts. For example, FMCSA works with a coalition that includes such
members as the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, 13
AAA, 14 and the American Trucking Associations, 15 and state and local
agencies. The coalition provides FMCSA with feedback on and assistance
with the program*s goal. In addition to these efforts, most Share the Road
resources are used to hire contractors to develop and implement the
13 The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators is a tax-
exempt, nonprofit organization that works to develop model programs in
motor vehicle administration, police traffic services, and highway safety.
14 AAA, formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a not-
for- profit, taxpaying federation of 77 motor clubs serving 46 million
members in the United States and Canada.
15 American Trucking Associations, Inc., is the national trade association
of the trucking industry.
Page 10 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety products and services (for example,
maintaining a Web site and developing educational materials) for the Share
the Road Safely program. The contracts for these products and services
have ranged from $25,000 to
$300, 000 since 2000 and are generally awarded for 1 year periods, but
they can be modified and extended with approval from FMCSA. Since fiscal
year 2000, FMCSA has awarded 13 contracts for various products and
services for the Share the Road Safely program. 16 Although a clear
rationale exists for several Share the Road Safely
initiatives, a few initiatives are not clearly linked to the program*s
safety goal. The program has begun to target specific driving behaviors
more likely to have a direct safety impact. Finally, public educational
approaches are generally considered more effective when combined with
other safety efforts, such as enhanced enforcement of traffic laws, and
FMCSA is beginning to combine these initiatives in the Share the Road
Safely program.
Several of the initiatives in the Share the Road Safely program are
generally linked to the program*s goal, as established in the Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, to educate the public about
sharing the road safely with large commercial vehicles. Examples of clear
links to the program goal includes (1) targeting Share the Road Safely
messages at specific groups, such as new or problem drivers, pedestrians,
or motorcyclists; (2) using radio and print public service announcements
as well as interactive CD- ROMs; (3) developing and maintaining a Share
the Road Safely Web site that provides downloadable information suitable
for specific audiences; and (4) introducing more information about sharing
the road with large commercial trucks into state driver education manuals
and driver training curricula.
Yet not all the program*s initiatives are directly linked to its goal. For
example, in recent years the program has awarded contracts for such
initiatives as educating school trip planners on using safe bus companies
for students* field trips and providing the Share the Road Safely message
to schoolchildren. According to FMCSA officials, these initiatives
accounted for about $255,000 for fiscal years 2001 through 2002, or
16 FMCSA officials told us that they did not have contract information for
fiscal years 1992 through 1999. Many Share the Road
Safely Program Initiatives Are Linked to the Program*s Goal but a Few Lack
Clear Linkage
A Few Program Initiatives Are Not Clearly Linked to the Program*s Goal
Page 11 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety approximately 20 percent of the
program*s budget for that period. According to an FMCSA official, one of
the Share the Road Safely
initiatives* Moving Kids Safely* educates school trip planners about how
to select safe bus companies to transport students on field trips.
According to this official, the initiative stresses the importance of
choosing a charter transportation company that has a satisfactory safety
record in order to
reduce the risk of crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving
schoolchildren. FMCSA officials pointed out that this can change the way
bus companies are hired for school trips and contribute to the goal of
reducing school bus crashes. However, it is not clear how the initiative
contributes to the program*s goal of educating the public about sharing
the road with commercial motor vehicles.
Similarly, according to program officials, FMCSA joined the ongoing
*Trucker Buddy* initiative, a national program sponsored by the trucking
industry. The initiative*s purpose was to test the effectiveness of
targeting students at various stages of the public education system to
determine how much the children had learned about the safety issues
concerning large commercial trucks, to improve their knowledge of the
truck driving profession, and to assess whether this information was
communicated to their parents. The initiative included such activities as
truckers visiting
elementary school classrooms and students establishing pen- pal
relationships with truckers. While these activities may prove to have some
long- term effect on the children*s behavior when they become drivers, or
may have affected their parents* driving behaviors, the connection between
the initiative and the goal of educating the motoring public is indirect.
According to FMCSA officials, FMCSA*s participation in this joint
initiative ended in March 2003.
Research conducted in the late 1990s enabled FMCSA to broaden the Share
the Road program beyond the No- Zone Campaign to include other initiatives
related to sharing the road with large commercial vehicles. The driving
behaviors targeted by the pre- 2000 Share the Road program were not
sufficiently specific to allow drivers to take effective actions to reduce
crashes. Because police reports cited the behavior of passenger vehicle
drivers in crashes more frequently than the behavior of large commercial
truck drivers, Share the Road initially emphasized its *no- zone* theme
and focused its efforts on passenger vehicle drivers. However, subsequent
research sponsored by FHWA concluded that, at most, only 35 percent of
fatal passenger vehicle and large commercial truck collisions are
attributable to passenger vehicles traveling in the no- zone. According to
FMCSA officials, since 2000 the Share the Road Safely program has Program
Currently Targets
More Specific Driver Behaviors than in Earlier Phase
Page 12 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety recognized the need to shift its focus
from a *no- zone* approach to one that better addresses the causes of
passenger vehicle and large
commercial truck collisions in order to develop stronger links between
Share the Road Safely program goal and its initiatives. A 1999 FHWA report
concluded that *more comprehensive data on the causes of passenger vehicle
and large commercial truck crashes of all severities would enhance FHWA*s
ability to develop effective countermeasures and prevent future crashes.*
Since then, FMCSA and NHTSA*s National Center for Statistics and Analysis
have begun a Large Truck Crash Causation
Study to determine the causes and associated factors contributing to
serious large commercial truck crashes so that agencies within DOT and
others can implement effective countermeasures to reduce the occurrence
and severity of such crashes. This is the first national study of its kind
and is designed to code all factors that might be crash related for later
analysis. FMCSA expects to release the study*s database to the public
early in 2005.
Highway safety researchers and safety advocates we interviewed agreed that
attempts to modify the behavior of drivers are more effective when
educational approaches are combined with enforcement efforts. This
conclusion is supported by the evaluation of past educational efforts to
change driver behavior, in particular efforts to reduce drunk driving or
increase safety belt usage. 17 For this reason, according to a NHTSA
official, NHTSA public information campaigns are frequently combined with
wellpublicized local police activities to enforce compliance with traffic
ordinances prohibiting behaviors such as driving while impaired or driving
without a safety belt.
FMCSA recently began an initiative that would link educational outreach
with enforcement. It plans to pilot test the effectiveness of combining
Share the Road Safely messages with local outreach and enforcement
17 U. S. General Accounting Office, Motor Vehicle Safety: Comprehensive
State Programs Offer Best Opportunity for Increasing Use of Safety Belts,
GAO/ RCED- 96- 24 (Washington, D. C.: Jan 3, 1996); U. S. General
Accounting Office, Highway Safety: Effectiveness of State .08 Blood
Alcohol Laws, GAO/ RCED- 99- 179 (Washington, D. C.: June 23, 1999). See
also
*Education Alone Won*t Make Drivers Safer,* Status Report: Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety 36: 5 (May 19, 2001); Adrian K. Lund and
Allan F. Williams, *A Review of the Literature Evaluating the Defensive
Driving Course,* Accident Analysis and Prevention 17: 6 (1985); Carolyn B.
Liban et al., *The Canadian Drinking- Driving Countermeasure Experience,*
Accident Analysis and Prevention 19: 3 (1987); James B. Jacobs, Drunk
Driving, An American Dilemma (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1989). Successful Initiatives
Combine Educational Outreach with Local Enforcement Efforts
Page 13 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety initiatives. The pilot test will include
outreach material, such as outdoor advertising and brochures, to educate
and increase the awareness of
passenger vehicle drivers on roads that have a disproportionately high
number of large commercial truck crashes. The primary emphasis will be on
the inability of large trucks to stop as quickly as cars and the hazard
created when cars cut in front of trucks on the highway. The pilot will
also emphasize to large commercial truck drivers the need for greater
patience and defensive driving in these high crash corridors. In June
2003, FMCSA
plans to pilot test these Share the Road Safely messages in conjunction
with enhanced state- level enforcement of traffic violations, such as
aggressive driving and tailgating in six corridors throughout the country
that have a high volume of large commercial truck crashes. According to a
FMCSA official, as part of this initiative, FMCSA will measure the
relative safety improvements in these high- volume, truck crash corridors
in order to identify effective safety strategies that could lead to the
development of community- based programs to reduce the number of crashes
between
large commercial trucks and passenger vehicles. A program*s effectiveness
can be determined by assessing how far a program has progressed toward
achieving its intended outcomes. FMCSA has attempted to measure the
effectiveness of some of the program*s initiatives, but these evaluations
provide only limited information on the program*s success in changing
driver behavior. FMCSA has not attempted to evaluate the Share the Road
Safely program since 2000; however, it has taken steps that may help it
improve its evaluations of the program*s
effectiveness in the future. In addition, practices used by other entities
both within and outside DOT to evaluate information dissemination programs
illustrate strategies that FMCSA could use to improve its evaluations.
Evaluations by
FMCSA Provided Little Information on the Effectiveness of the Share the
Road Program
Page 14 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety A program evaluation is a systematic
process that uses objective measures to analyze how well a program is
achieving its goals. In a recent report, 18 we noted that articulating the
logic* or strategy* of an information dissemination program like Share the
Road Safely could help the agency
identify expected short- term, intermediate, or long- term outcomes and
how to measure them. A clearly stated program strategy that articulates
how a program*s initiatives are expected to achieve its desired goals
enables the program*s managers to measure activities (for example, the
number of TV advertisements broadcast or workshops held); outputs (for
example, the portion of the target audience exposed to TV advertisements
or participating in workshops); and outcomes* the changes effected in the
target audience by the program. Many programs routinely track their
activities and outputs; however, an outcome program evaluation 19 assesses
actual changes in the audience*s knowledge, attitude, and behavior that
lead to an improvement in the conditions the program was designed to
improve. Such an evaluation measures the extent to which a program has
achieved its intended short- term, intermediate, and long- term outcomes.
For an information dissemination program, short- term outcomes would
typically include gains in the audience*s knowledge and changes in its
attitude about the issue addressed by the program. For Share the Road
Safely, short- term outcomes would include positive changes in motorists*
or pedestrians* beliefs and positive reactions to the program*s safety
messages. Intermediate outcomes would include positive changes in the
audience*s behavior, such as not cutting in front of large trucks or
tailgating. Long- term outcomes represent the ultimate objective of the
program. For the Share the Road Safely program, a long- term outcome
would be contributing to a reduction in the number of fatal collisions
involving large commercial trucks and other vehicles or pedestrians.
Changes in this outcome, while easy to measure, can be difficult to
ascribe to the program because alternative explanations, such as
improvements in the design of trucks and other vehicles, safety
improvements in roadway design, or safety initiatives of other FMCSA
safety programs can also be credited with contributing toward any
progress.
18 U. S. General Accounting Office, Program Evaluation: Strategies for
Assessing How Information Dissemination Contributes to Agency Goals, GAO-
02- 923 (Washington, D. C.: September 2002). 19 U. S. General Accounting
Office, Performance Measurement and Evaluation: Definitions and
Relationships, GAO/ GGD- 98- 26 (Washington, D. C.: April 1998). Program
Evaluation Uses
Objective Measures to Examine the Effectiveness of a Program*s
Contributions to ShortTerm, Intermediate, or Long- Term Outcomes
Page 15 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety We recently reviewed a number of
federally sponsored information dissemination programs, including efforts
to enhance compliance with
environmental regulations and reduce youth drug use. 20 We identified
several strategies that were used to improve the evaluations of such
programs. They included such practices as
developing common measures for national evaluations, comparing before-
and- after reports to assess change, using statistical methods to limit
external influences, and adjusting the wording of survey questions to
reduce potential bias.
The programs we reviewed were substantially more costly efforts than the
initiatives conducted for Share the Road Safely program and consequently
their evaluations were correspondingly more extensive. However, the
strategies these programs developed to improve their evaluations can be
scaled appropriately to smaller initiatives like those in the Share the
Road Safely program.
FMCSA has issued three reports 21 about the Share the Road program*s
progress and initiatives. In 1997 and 1999, FMCSA reported on the
program*s progress toward achieving its goal and concluded that the
program was effective in communicating the dangers inherent in large
commercial truck interaction with passenger vehicles and on providing
useful information on safe driving behaviors for the target audience.
FMCSA also reported that since 1994, the program has made significant
accomplishments in implementing its planned activities. For example, Share
the Road messages were seen and heard throughout the country on
billboards, radio, and television and in schools and driver education
classes. 20 GAO- 02- 923. 21 No- Zone Campaign Goals and Activities
Summary Report (March 1997), Share the Road Campaign Research Study Final
Report (June 1999), U. S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration, Office of Motor Carrier and Highway
Safety; and No- Zone Campaign Assessment (October 2000) U. S. Department
of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Evaluations of the Share
the Road Program Did Not Fully Measure the Program*s Outcomes
Page 16 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety In 2000, FMCSA issued a report that
addressed changes in drivers* knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors while
driving in the vicinity of large
trucks as a result of its Share the Road initiatives to that point. The
agency surveyed 1,100 licensed drivers and found that 58 percent of the
respondents had seen or heard the phrase *Share the Road*; and 59 percent
said they changed their behavior when they learned about some of the
special characteristics of large trucks, such as longer braking distances
and larger blind spots. However, FMCSA could not directly link these
behavior changes to the Share the Road program. Only 13 percent of
respondents had seen or heard the phrase *No- Zone** the major focus of
the program*s initiatives at that time. Although these studies shed some
light on the extent of the Share the
Road program*s outputs, they did not fully measure the program*s outcomes.
The studies provide some information on the initiatives the program has
sponsored and on drivers* familiarity with some concepts and behaviors
promoted by the program. They shed little light on the shortterm,
intermediate, and long- term outcomes for three reasons. First, FMCSA*s
evaluations relied heavily on self- reports of the target audience*s
attitude and behavior change that were highly subject to positively biased
responses; that is, respondents are likely to provide socially desirable
responses. 22 For example, when a positive- sounding program such as
*Share the Road* is mentioned, respondents are likely to report being
familiar with and heeding its message. 23 Second, because no baseline of
driver knowledge and behavior prior to the program had been established,
FMCSA could not determine the extent to which any changes in these
intended short- term outcomes actually occurred. 24 Third, if changes did
occur, FMCSA had no way of knowing whether these changes were the result
of program activities or other influences. 25 22 GAO- 02- 923.
23 The fact that 58 percent of respondents reported being familiar with
*Share the Road,* but only 13 percent were familiar with *No- Zone** the
program*s primary initiative* suggests the likely influence of a positive
bias.
24 The Trucker Buddy program is a small exception. As part of the program,
elementary schoolchildren were tested on their knowledge of trucks before
and after instruction on the subject. They demonstrated a 21 percent
improvement. 25 Other similar programs, such as those sponsored by
trucking organizations, automobile
associations, and insurance companies, strive for goals similar to those
in FMCSA*s Share the Road Safely program. These organizations and
associations have programs that specifically address the needs of
passenger and commercial vehicle drivers.
Page 17 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety There are other methods that can be used
to assess the effectiveness of information dissemination programs such as
Share the Road Safely. For
example, the Office of National Drug Control Policy used a media campaign
to counteract images that were perceived as glamorizing or condoning drug
use. Under the direction of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a
contractor conducted a national evaluation of the campaign. The evaluation
surveyed households in the targeted markets to assess advertisement
awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior, including drug use, in a
representative sample of youths and their parents or other caretakers. The
evaluation could not compare its sample with a control group that had not
been exposed to the media campaign because the campaign ran nationally.
Therefore, the evaluation used a *dose- response* design to measure the
degree of respondents* exposure to the campaign and assess whether
adoption of the desired attitudes and behaviors was positively correlated
with their exposure.
The experiences of other administrations within DOT, such as NHTSA, could
also help FMCSA in its evaluations of the Share the Road Safely program.
FMCSA officials acknowledged that NHTSA possesses expertise in developing
and evaluating information dissemination programs aimed at improving
drivers* safety consciousness and driving behaviors. For example, in May
2001, NHTSA conducted a regional *Click It or Ticket* campaign in several
southeastern states to increase safety belt use through media outreach
combined with intense state- level enforcement of safety belt use laws.
Evaluation of the campaign found an increase in safety belt use that was
correlated with the amount of advertisements publicizing the
campaign and consequent public awareness of the heightened enforcement
activities.
FMCSA officials told us that they have performed no evaluation of the
Share the Road Safely program since 2000. However, they also told us that
they recognize the need for improved evaluation of the program*s outcomes
and that this was one factor considered in the refocus of the program
beginning in 2000. Prior evaluations had attempted to measure the national
penetration of the Share the Road program message, particularly its no-
zone message. Because their post- 2000 strategy has emphasized specific
target groups or geographic areas, officials expect that they will be
better able to measure the effectiveness of focused pilot tests and
determine the relative effectiveness of different initiatives before
expanding them or offering them as models for state or local emulation.
FMCSA officials pointed to the combined education/ enforcement initiative
planned for six corridors with high numbers of truck crashes as a recent
Other Methods for Evaluating Information
Dissemination Programs Exist
FMCSA Expects to Perform More Meaningful Evaluations of the Share the Road
Safely Program in the Future
Page 18 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety example of this more targeted approach
that they expect will allow them to make more meaningful evaluations of
changes in driver behavior and,
ultimately, in car/ truck crash frequency. However, because none of the
pilot initiatives undertaken during the post- 2000 Share the Road Safely
program has been completed, FMCSA has no outcome measures to assess
the effectiveness of the program. The Share the Road Safely program
currently consists of a number of relatively new pilot initiatives in
various stages of implementation. These initiatives are designed to
contribute to FMCSA*s goal of reducing the fatality rate associated with
large commercial vehicles; however, we found that in some cases their link
to the program*s goal of educating the public about driving safely around
large commercial vehicles was tenuous. Given
that findings from DOT*s research* which may help identify specific
behaviors contributing to car/ truck crashes* will soon be available and
that FMCSA*s pilot initiatives are still not fully implemented, FMCSA has
an opportunity to ensure that the initiatives are organized into a program
strategy that explicitly links them to the program*s overall goal.
In addition, FMCSA has not evaluated the effectiveness of Share the Road
Safely since 2000. We recognize that the program*s relatively small budget
demands that its evaluation activities be scaled appropriately to the size
of its initiatives. Yet it is important that FMCSA incorporate the best
evaluation practices that are available from federal and other sources to
the extent practicable to ensure that the agency does not expend its
limited resources on initiatives of uncertain or unknown effectiveness.
The program*s shift to more limited pilot initiatives offers the
opportunity for appropriately scaled evaluations. More rigorous
evaluations than those conducted in the past could be used to enhance
FMCSA*s ability to direct its resources to more cost- effective
initiatives that are clearly linked to the program*s goal.
To ensure that FMCSA*s Share the Road Safely program initiatives
contribute to the agency*s goal to reduce the number of collisions between
large commercial trucks and other highway users, we recommend that the
Secretary of Transportation direct the FMCSA administrator to
develop an explicit program strategy that clearly and directly links
FMCSA*s Share the Road Safely program initiatives to its goal and uses the
results of the Large Truck Crash Causation Study as they become
available, as well as other relevant highway safety data, in order to
identify Conclusion
Recommendations for Executive Action
Page 19 GAO- 03- 680 Truck Safety specific behaviors that contribute to
passenger vehicle and large commercial truck crashes, thus more
effectively targeting the limited
resources of the Share the Road Safely program; and establish a
systematic strategy for evaluating the Share the Road Safely program*s
initiatives that makes greater use where practical of DOT*s
experience in designing and evaluating information dissemination programs
to enhance highway safety. DOT officials reviewed a draft of this report
and generally agreed with our
recommendations. They also made some technical comments that we have
incorporated into this report as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to congressional committees and
subcommittees with responsibilities for transportation and the Secretary
of Transportation. We will make copies available to others upon request.
In addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site
at http:// www. gao. gov.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact
either Robert White at whitere@ gao. gov or me at siggerudk@ gao. gov.
Alternatively, we may be reached at (202) 512- 2834. Key contributors to
this report were Sally Gilley, Brandon Haller, Octavia Parks, Jason
Schwartz, and Susan Michal- Smith.
Katherine Siggerud Acting Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues Agency
Comments
and Our Evaluation
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