Addressing the Texting and Driving Epidemic: Mortality Salience Priming Effects on Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions

Texting while driving is becoming a problem of epidemic proportion, causing thousands of fatalities each year. However, surprisingly few academic studies to date have examined this issue in a social marketing context. We address this research void by reporting the findings of two empirical studies--the first, an exploratory study of drivers' perceptions of texting while driving; the second, an experimental examination of the relative effectiveness of mortality salience (MS) primes in public service announcements (PSAs). Employing theory derived from the MS literature, we find that when verbal and/or visual cues to death/dying were used, participants' attitudes and behavioral intentions were altered in a positive direction. As compared to a control group, the primed PSAs produced less favorable attitudes and reduced intentions to text while driving in the future. Implications of these findings for consumers, social marketers, and policymakers are discussed, and future research directions are provided. ********** Distracted driving--defined as "any activity that may divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving" (NHTSA 2013)--has recently become a matter of great concern. Of all the types of driver distractions (e.g., talking to passengers, grooming, adjusting a radio, etc.), text-messaging is often considered the most distracting--and potentially dangerous--because it requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention from the driver (Dingus, Hanowski, and Klauer 2011; Drews et al. 2009). In support of this notion, the National Safety Council (2010) estimates that at least 1.6 million crashes each year (about 28% of all traffic accidents) and thousands of fatalities can be attributed to drivers who are distracted by cell phone use, with conservative estimates indicating that as many as 200,000 of these accidents are due specifically to texting-while-driving incidents. Several approaches have been recommended and initiated over the past few years in an attempt to remedy what some have suggested has become an "epidemic" problem in the United States (Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA] 2010). Among these are: (1) federal and state laws banning the practice, (2) stricter enforcement of current laws, (3) company policies restricting or prohibiting employee cell phone usage while driving, (4) advanced technologies (e.g., preventing incoming texts and calls from reaching a driver's cell phone), (5) the use of a "designated (passenger) texter," and (6) the dissemination of public service announcements (PSAs) and other promotional campaigns aiming to dissuade drivers from engaging in these risky behaviors. Although regulatory, company-mandated, and technological approaches would appear to be promising avenues for addressing this growing concern, government findings suggest that the incidence of distracted driving accidents has not diminished in a significant way. In fact, research conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute (2010) suggests that enacting texting bans may actually increase the likelihood of an accident occurring (because, to avoid being caught, drivers often move their phones down and out of sight when they text--further exacerbating the inherent risks). Such findings support the notion that continued research efforts on the topic are sorely needed. As such, the current research was undertaken with a specific focus on providing additional insights regarding the use of persuasive communication techniques that may successfully alter perceptions and curb the incidence of texting while driving. Recognizing that media-delivered promotional campaigns continue to be viable vehicles for educational and persuasive purposes, we examine the relative effectiveness of targeted fear-based advertising appeals in the specific context of PSAs. Mortality salience (MS) (Greenberg et al. 1990) is offered as a theoretical basis for our investigations. We begin with a review of the current state of the texting-while-driving problem, which includes a discussion of the physiological impact of texting while driving, and the psychological factors that may contribute to this behavior. …