Millennials: We Care

Reducing Hit-and-Run Incidents Amongst College-Age Young Adults

Felicia Garcia

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Purpose and Focus (4)

SWOT Analysis (4)
Background (5)
Target Audience (6)
Primary Research (7-8)
Goals and Objectives (9-10)
a. Main Campaign Goal (9)
b. Behavior Objective (9)
c. Knowledge Objective (9)
d. Belief Objective (9-10)
e. Theoretical Implications (10)
7. Factors Influencing Adoption of the Behavior (11-12)
a. Barriers (11)
b. Benefits (11)
c. Competition (11-12)
d. Influential Others (12)
8. Positioning Statement (13)
9. Marketing Mix Strategies (14-18)
a. Product (14)
b. Price (14-15)
c. Place (15)
d. Promotion (15-18)
10. Plan for Monitoring & Evaluation (19-21)
a. Inputs (19)
b. Outputs (19)
c. Outcomes (20)
d. Impact (20)
11. Budget (22)
12. Plan for Implementation and Program Management (23-24)
13. Pilot Testing Methods and Results (25-26)
a. Methods (25)
b. Results (25-26)
c. Implications/Improvements (26)
14. References
a. (27-28)
15. Appendices (29-32)

PURPOSE & FOCUS

Purpose:
This plan is intended to promote traffic safety, in order to decrease the number
of injuries and fatalities among U.S. citizens. The purpose is to reduce the
number of hit-and-run accidents that occur and result in injury or death. Hit-andrun accidents in this plan refer to any traffic accident where an operator of a
vehicle has failed to stop and give information, and render aid after being
involved in an accident that resulted in death/injury to a person or damage to a
vehicle attended by a person.
Focus:
The focus of this plan is to encourage young adults (18-24) to agree to adhere to
Texas traffic statutes as listed on section 550.023 of the Texas Transportation
Code, overall reducing the number of hit-and-run related injuries and deaths
(Tex. Trans. Code, 1995).

Strengths

SWOT ANALYSIS

Staying can avoid offenses resulting in fine and/or imprisonment and

confinement ((Tex. Trans. Code ch. 550, 550.021. Duty to Give Information
and Render Aid.1995).

Stopping can prevent increase in severity of the crash and/or injury (Tay et al.,
2008).

Millennials care about social issues (Council of Academic Advisers, 2014).

Weaknesses

Higher hit-and-run behavior among males (Maceleod et al., 2011).

A driver is more likely to flee when they perceive higher subsequent economic
consequences (Zhang et al., 2014).

32.4% of fatal-crashes that involved unlicensed drivers resulted in hit-and-run

(AAA Foundation, 2011).

21-24 year olds are most at risk to be involved in an alcohol-related accident

with 32% of fatal alcohol crashes involving young adults in 2012 (CDC, 2014).

Opportunities

Hit-and-runs are often not caused by career criminals and happen spontaneously
not planned (Kim et al., 2008).

Licensed drivers are more likely to stop after a traffic accident (Tay et al., 2008).

Millennials care about social issues (Council of Academic Advisers, 2014).

Threats

Traffic is inherently dangerous (Hoekstra et al., 2011).

There is limited research on the issue.

There are a high number of fatal accidents with 151,820 drivers were involved in
fatal crashes between 2007 and 2009 (AAA Foundation, 2011).
BACKGROUND

Hit and run accidents are on the rise, -- increasing by 13% from 2009 to 2011
according to research done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(2013). While there is plenty of research and various causes to traffic accidents, the
psychology behind why people choose to flee the scene of an accident is still
questionable and under researched. One study concluded from findings that people
are more likely to flee when they perceive higher subsequent consequences (Zhang et
al., 2014). Most hit and run accidents tend to occur during nighttime when visibility and
traffic are lower (Tay et al., 2008). Additionally, hit-and-run crashes are more likely to
happen on weekends than on weekdays, with alcohol increasing likeliness as well
(Blomberg et al., 2009). Young people ages 21-24 are most at risk to be involved in an
alcohol-related accident with 32% of fatal alcohol crashes involving young adults in
2012 (CDC, 2014). The maximum penalty for failing to comply with Texas Traffic Code
was half that for causing a drunken-driving fatality. The current penalty for failure to

stop and render aid, under Texas Traffic Code, is felony and/or misdemeanor
depending on whether or not a person was injured (Tex. Trans. Code, 1995).
TARGET AUDIENCE
Proposed Target Audience
The proposed target audience is young adults between the ages of 18 and 24,
referred to as millennials in this plan. The specific audience for this plan holds a valid
drivers license, is living on their own, but still considerably financially dependent on
parents and/or school loans and are not considered career criminals. Additionally, the
target audience for this campaign currently attends a Texas public university and is
unmarried with a low expendable income.
Millennials are highly impacted by technology from an early age, are interactive
on online communities and have access to cell phones and other digital devices.
Research shows that this generation values their role in the community. Additionally,
millennials have reported to share close relationships with their parents and note
creativity as an important job feature (Council of Academic Advisers, 2014). This
generation can be defined by large national events such as the shootings at Columbine
and Virginia Tech, the 911 terrorist attack, Hurricane Katrina and Oklahoma City
bombings. While experts believe that some individuals have become desensitized to
tragedy, the generation as a whole has high regard for issues in society including

violence, poverty and environmental problems (Funk, 2014). All of this is despite a
general public perception that millennials are apathetic to social issues.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
A 15-question survey, including 5 open-ended questions, was distributed online
to 15 college-age adults between the ages of 20 and 24. The survey was designed to
investigate knowledge of the proposed target audience regarding hit-and-run motives,
consequences and frequency of occurrence. The survey began with a fictional scenario.
The respondents were then asked to answer three questions. The first question
explored motive and of the 15 respondents, 10 cited insurance as a reason that the
fictional person presented in the scenario did not stop. According to the survey results,
lack of insurance is a perceived key factor in hit-and-run accidents. The secondary
research supports this assumption with data noting lack of license (and by default, lack
of drivers insurance) as a factor for higher likelihood to flee the scene (Tay et al., 2008).
This implies that licensed millennials do not perceive themselves at risk.
The second question explored perceived consequence. Almost half the
respondents (7) presumed some sort of hit-and-run charge as a possible consequence.
Only two respondents mentioned jail time and seven mentioned a monetary penalty
such as fine, ticket or compensation for damages.
The third question again explored motive, exploring the likelihood of alcohol as
a factor. Only 3 respondents did not consider alcohol to be a likely factor, with 11 of
7

the remaining respondents considering it somewhat likely and 1 considering it very

likely. Respondents, who answered that alcohol was either somewhat or very likely a
factor, were then asked why they thought it to be a likely factor. Seven of the
participants referred to greater penalty as reason to alcohol being a likely factor in this
hit-and-run scenario. Other reasons included age, inhibited mental state and alcohol
accident pattern. This implies that although millennials do not initially perceive
themselves to be at risk, it is possible that they will perceive themselves to be at risk
when alcohol is involved.
The questionnaire also revealed that an overwhelming 75% of the surveyed
adults (12) have been or know someone who has been involved in a hit-and-run
accident. When asked if surprised by this fictional statistic, 2 out of every 3 traffic
accidents result in a hit-and-run, 11 respondents answered no. Reasons varied as to
why this did not surprise them but several responses included panic or inability to face
consequences as rationale: People have a tendency to run away from repercussions of
any sort, I think that in the moment people panic and have an instinctive desire to
get out of the current situation, Most of the times the driver who hit-and ran was at
fault and they did not want to face the consequences, people are scared to face the
consequences.
In terms of social issue awareness, 8 respondents reported that they often think
about social issues, 6 reported sometimes and 1 person reported rarely ever thinking
8

about social issues. The preference of medium for social issue information was fairly
widespread with an equal amount of people (5) preferring newspaper/journal and
television, and 3 preferring social media, followed by 2 preferring to learn about social
issues through friends and family.
Overall, the survey revealed three things. (1) Young adults are aware that hitand-run accidents are unlawful, punishable crimes; (2) young adults have potential to
perceive themselves at risk; (3) millennials have been affected in some way by hit-andrun accidents Additionally, it is worth noting that the questionnaire revealed a majority
of millennials questioned give thought to social issues.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Main Campaign Goal
Decrease hit-and-run traffic accidents among young adults (18-24) in Texas by
providing a simple procedure/script to be followed in the event of an accident.
Behavior Objective
The anticipated (intermediate) behavior will be for the target audience to make a
conscious proactive choice to not be a hit-and-run driver in the event of an accident.
Knowledge Objective
The audience will need to know that it is against the law to flee the scene of an
accident without complying with Texas Transportation Code.
9

The audience will need to know and understand that the proper procedure to follow in
the event of an accident is to:
1. Stop Stop the vehicle and/or pull off to the side if necessary.
2. Check on others: Make sure that whomever else is involved, in whatever way,
is okay.
3.Notify authorities: Call 911 to report the incident and get help (medical or
otherwise), and mediation for exchange of information. If help from authorities is
not necessary, exchange necessary insurance and contact information.
Belief Objective
The audience will need to believe that their individual behavior will make a difference.

A life can be saved from stopping.

Doing the right thing and stopping is a reflection of good character for the
generation and congruent with what other millennials actions.

Stopping contributes to correcting the misconception that Millennials do not

care about social issues.

Theoretical Implications

10

Cognitive dissonance is created when an individual experiences mental

imbalance or emotional discomfort in relation to exposure that does not agree with
personal belief or opinion. The Cognitive Dissonance theory explains that individuals
will avoid this disagreement but when exposed to it, will react in such a way that the
dissonance is eliminated or reduced (Festinger, 1957). If the proposed target audience
is directed to believe that proactively deciding to not hit and run after an accident is
one, a way to reinforce generational characteristics regarding social issues, and two, a
way to discredit the misconception that millennials do not care about social issues,
then any behavior either contradicting the characteristic or validating popular opinion
will be rejected to eliminate dissonance.
FACTORS INFLUENCING ADOPTION OF THE BEHAVIOR
Barriers
A possible barrier to proactively choosing to stop and render aid in the event of an
accident is that making such a decision could be interpreted as admitting risk to the
hit-and-run behavior. According to the survey, millennials dont necessarily perceive
themselves at risk. Thinking about what they would do in this specific situation implies
that they are at risk to be in the situation. Furthermore, having to make a decision
about it preventatively could be perceived to suggest that they are not capable of
doing the right thing on the spot.

11

Benefits
Staying after the occurrence of a traffic accident can potentially result in saving
someones life. A stopped vehicle can act as a shield in the event that oncoming traffic
doesnt immediately recognize that there has been an accident (Tay et al., 2008). This
is especially true for accidents involving pedestrians or cyclists who are clearly more
exposed. The audience holds social issues in high regard (Funk, 2014), suggesting that
these individuals care about society as a whole and thus care about the well being of
people. If the audience can be led to think that they are contributing to society by
stopping, that they are saving lives, then it is possible that the likelihood for behavior
congruent with existing beliefs will increase. Also, a perceived benefit to proactively
choosing to stop is that making this honorable choice can be a way to discredit the
public perception that millennials are apathetic to social issues.
Competition
A possible competing behavior to proactively choosing to not hit and run after an
accident is to not think about the situation at all. Research showed that millennials have
lived through several national tragedies and have become somewhat desensitized
(Funk, 2014). Its a likely possibility that millennials would rather not have to think about
hard or uncomfortable circumstances and instead focus on the positive.
Influential Others

12

Millennials have strong relationships with their parents and the community.
Additionally, this generation is connected more than any other generation online and
has a high percentage of people seeking higher education (Council of Economic
Advisers, 2014). Influential others for this group therefore including: parents, and peers
(online and off). Parents are a large influence but because more millennials attend
college away from home, a significant amount of time is spent with roommates, friends
and fellow students. Peer groups/friends are present for behavior such as drinking that
lead up to hit-and-runs and are easier to relate to.

13

POSITIONING STATEMENT
We want millennials in Texas to see proactively choosing to stop, and not flee, after
being involved in a traffic accident as a normative behavior among other millennials
that will contribute to reducing the negative perception that this generation (18-24 year
olds) is narcissistic and apathetic to social issues and reaffirm the fact that millennials
actually do care about social issues.

The need to eliminate cognitive dissonance will inspire millennials to discredit the
public perception that they are apathetic to social issues but the way that the audience
will demonstrate social responsibility will be through the theory of reasoned action. If
the proactive declaration of intent to stop and exchange information immediately after
a traffic accident is established as a normative behavior amongst millennials, then an
individuals behavior will likely follow that attitude (TRA; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).

14

MARKETING MIX STRATEGIES

Product
Core Product: Opportunity to demonstrate social responsibility and discredit the
societal perception that young adults are apathetic and narcissistic.
Actual Product: Electronic or hard copy pledge with response thank you email
providing a concrete script or procedure to follow in the event of an accident.
Augmented Product: Key chains featuring university logo and reminder message
such as a social media hashtag.
Price
Non-Monetary: Time and Effort

Time and effort it takes to read through a message, possible scenarios and
sign the petition.

Time and effort it takes to share with friends either by word of mouth or
social media.

Nonmonetary Psychological:

Having to consciously think about the possibility of this happening and stick
to their word.

Monetary and Nonmonetary Incentives and Disincentives:

15

Increase nonmonetary benefits:

o Pledge recognition/appreciation for choosing not to hit and run

Thank you email after signing a pledge

o Display number of people who have already signed and participated

to promote fellowship.

Decrease nonmonetary Costs:

o Make the copy short and to the point.
o Ask for email as the signature to simultaneously get contact
information to send thank you.
o Make it simple and easy enough to share with friends via social media.
Offer a link that can easily be posted to a news feed or retweeted.

Place
The best place to meet the target audience is where they already are, in this
case, college campuses. Pairing with a student organization that has a large
following such as a local church that holds events on campus tailored for
students can be very effective. Even more effective will be student
organizations that give opinion leaders the opportunity to speak and be heard

16

by fellow students. Additionally, pairing with an official university organization

can allow for promotion and collection of pledges in high traffic areas on
campuses where many students congregate during free time and/or during the
transition between classes.
Promotion
Messages:

What do you want to the target audience to do?

o Make a pledge to stop after being involved in any and all traffic
accidents they are involved in.

What do you want them to know?

o Hit and run accidents are a problem and the act of signing a simple
pledge is helping the problem.
o Others are signing the pledge as well and vowing to stop if ever in the
specific situation.
o Signing is simple and easy to share.
o The specific script/procedure to follow:
1. Stop Stop the vehicle and/or pull off to the side if necessary.
2. Check on other party Make sure that the whomever else is
involved, in whatever way, is okay.

17

3. Notify authorities Call 911 to report the incident and get help
(medical or otherwise) and mediation for exchange of information.
If help from authorities is not necessary, exchange necessary
insurance and contact information.

What do you want them to believe?

o Everyone their age is signing the pledge and therefore they are like
everyone else.
o Signing the pledge makes them a part of a community.
o Signing the pledge is a representation of community mindedness.
o Signing the pledge is a way to discredit public misconceptions about
millennials apathy toward social issues.

Messengers:
School organizations that already advocate for the greater good/pro
social causes can be effective messengers through partnerships or
sponsorships. Opinion leaders such as friends can subsequently be
messengers by word of mouth or direct mention/invitation to sign online.
Creative Strategy and Communication Channels:

18

The main message or tagline to get across to people will be: Millennials
Care. This blanket statement will be used to pique interest and drive traffic to
a site, created specifically for the pledge to not hit and run after an accident.
In addition to online pledges, people can sign in person on tablets or hard
copies that paid promoters will have as they disseminate the pledge on
campus hot spots. Upon signing the pledge (online) the individuals will be
invited to share on a social network platform or email to friends. Also, small
promotional items will be handed out such as a key chain featuring the
respective campus logo and message indicating completion of the pledge
and website. This pledge will serve as a declaration of intent to potentially
influence behavior later, as well as establish a community that removes
dissonance created by public perception, and strengthens the act of
stopping as a normative behavior (TRA; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). The pledge
explanation will feature a short scenario easily identifiable with college
students with simple and clear execution of the desired behavior. The pledge
itself will feature a simple declaration:
1. If I hit, I will stop.
2. If I hit, I will help and/or call for help.
3. If I hit, I will wait to exchange information.
19

People will be encouraged to make the pledge through a personal approach as

well with videos posted to the website featuring real stories of millennials who
have signed the petition. Stories can include a tagline: If I hit, I will stop because
Im a millennial who cares. People who have signed the pledge will not only be
invited to share that they have on social media, but will also be invited to create
their own video about someone theyve lost or their reasons for caring.
Print
Flyers on college campuses.
Video
Videos with victim testimonies, either by victims themselves and their
surviving friends, and millennials who have signed the pledge because
they care.

Social Media
A Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will be created where a hashtag, can
be used for people to share and have easier access to the pledge
domain. Content will feature only organic, amateur subject matter to
sympathize and level with the target audience. The social media presence

20

will be more about the target audience in order to foster a community

between millennials who care.

PLAN FOR MONITORING & EVALUATION

The campaign will begin organically, meaning that person-to-person interaction, and
not paid media will launch this campaign, among college students of one specific area:
Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The initial launch of the campaign will take
place for one month during the fall semester of the academic year 2015. Throughout
the first month of promotion, the following inputs and outputs will be measured, and at
the end of the month the following outcomes will be evaluated to determine how the
campaign can be best implemented on a larger scale.
Inputs

Money spent on materials including flyers, promotional key chains, tablets

(for signatures), website domain, web designer, videographer to create
testimony videos for website, and staff to collect pledges in person and
manage website/social media.

21

Contribution of time and money to sponsor organization and their particular

efforts.

Outputs
The implementation of this campaign is going to primarily be organic, but some
necessary material to launch the campaign will include:

10 iPads with Wifi Data plan to collect signatures (per university)

1 Web Domain

Facebook page, Twitter profile, Instagram account, and YouTube account

Several hundred flyers to be handed out around campus

Thank you email

Several hundred customized school logo key chains to give away upon signing
pledge

Outcomes
Will be measured by:

Evaluation of number of pledges signed.

Evaluation of forwarded emails that invite others to sign the pledge.

Evaluation of website traffic in comparison to number of pledges.

Evaluation of quantity and content of likes, retweets, and shares on

respective social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook.
22

Evaluation of hashtag use and context (positive or negative).

Impact
Although impact cannot necessarily be attributed to the number of pledges signed,
certain information can be monitored for changes such as:

Buzz on social media: How many people are sharing videos with positive
intent, using the hashtag, and how many likes, shares, favorites, positive
retweets, etc. are there? This can be monitored on social media
management site, Hootsuite.

Decrease (or increase) in reported hit-and-runs in the surrounding area as

compared to previous months. Data to be collected by the local Lubbock
Police Department.
o A follow up email survey will be sent to those who have taken the
pledge asking questions about how the pledge has impacted their
self-perception when it comes to social issues in general and specific
to hit-and-run accidents. Questions will include some such as: do you
feel that taking this pledge has made a personal impact on you? If so,
how so? If not, why not? Did this pledge get you to think about the
possibility of this happening to you? How likely are you to remember
taking this pledge the if/when you are involved in a vehicular
accident?
23

Distribution of materials, time spent, and sharable content will be continuously

monitored but an evaluation of: total number of pledges, positive social media shares,
and thank you emails at the end of the first month will determine what changes, if any,
should be made to the campaign. Small adjustments will me made accordingly at the
end of every month for the first university. After a complete semester, outcomes will
again be evaluated and the campaign will move on to 5 other public universities in the
state.

24

BUDGET
Although this campaign is going to rely heavily on organic communication, there are
still some practical costs to consider.
Product-related costs: It will cost some money to hire staff to facilitate the
campaign, collect signatures, input manually (if only email addresses are
provided on clipboard with pledge), generate and monitor material for social
media.
Price-related costs: Will include the purchasing of custom made key chains that
feature both the respective schools logo and a campaign message such as
website URL or hashtag.
Place-related costs: Aside from labor, it wont cost anything to promote on
campus (if affiliated with an organization) but there should be some money
allocated to support the organization in any of their efforts. For example, if the
organization rents out a campus facility weekly, the campaign budget should set
aside funds to contribute. Just the same, the organization may be a great
resource for funds. The partnering organization may choose to set aside a
special fund for the cause.
Promotion-related costs: This part of the budget will go toward purchasing a
web domain, web designer, graphic designer, videographer flyers and any other
production costs necessary.
25

Evaluation-related costs: The campaign will not be large enough (yet) to require
expensive software but staff will need to be compensated for organizing and
analyzing data to evaluate outcomes.

Once the campaign becomes larger, then additional funds will be necessary for
more material, labor and promotional product.

PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Stage 1: September Second week of the fall semester.
A staff of about ten students will partner with a community organization that is
already established on a university campus. For Texas Tech, the campaign will
partner with Experience Life Church. Experience Life Church meets with about
900 students every Tuesday night for one hour. The campaign can be promoted
(and signatures collected) at the weekly Tuesday college service.
Stage 2: September Third week of the fall semester.
The paid staff will begin to promote during the week (twice weekly for three
hours) at the universitys free speech area in the early afternoon (high traffic
time), representing Experience Life Church, because only student organizations
are permitted to promote at these locations. Pledges will be collected via
potential pledgers personal phones, or tablets and clipboards provided by
26

campaign staff. An email address will equal a signature and students who dont
wish to visit the site themselves can still sign by providing their email address for
staff to later input. Upon completion of the pledge, a thank you email will be
sent out with links to social media profiles, invitation to share personal story (via
video and/or hashtag), and the opportunity to invite friends to sign as well.
Additionally, as a thank you for and a reminder of the pledge, customized key
chains will be handed out featuring, both the university logo and the campaign
URL and/or hashtag.
At the end of Stage 2, the end of September, the campaign will be evaluated for
progress.

Stage 3: October November

The paid staff will continue to attend Experience Life Weekly college service,
handing out flyers and collecting signatures as well as twice weekly at the
universitys free speech area. At this time, the paid staff will also be responsible
for monitoring social media interaction and assessing the questions to be sent
out upon completion of the pledge.
Stage 4: December First week of the month.

27

After a semesters worth of monitoring and evaluation, the campaign will be

thoroughly analyzed. Paid staff will count and evaluate total number of petitions,
shares, likes, retweets, hashtag uses, Twitter handle and Facebook name
mentions, videos, surveys and email forwards that share the pledge.
Stage 5: December & January Last and first week of the month.
An improved campaign will be developed with necessary changes.
Stage 6: January Third week of the month and first week of the spring semester.
An improved campaign will be implemented to five additional public schools to
include: University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University College Station,
University of Texas El Paso, and University of North Texas Dallas.

28

PILOT TESTING METHODS AND RESULTS

Methods
Pretest:
Two different versions of the flyer that is to be posted around campus were
presented to 5 millennials. The flyers only differed in content but design
remained consistent between the two. One message presented millennials in a
positive light, while the other presented millennials in more of a negative tone.
The two flyers featured the word millennials spelled out vertically with
adjectives to describe the generation. One flyer had positive descriptors and the
other had negative. The positive flyer highlighted a millennials perspective of
self, and the alternate flyer featured the popular public (mis)perception of the
generation. The copy for both flyers was minimal and included the same website
URL: www.MillennialsCare.com, and the hashtag: #WeCare. The purpose of this
pretest was to observe which message, positive or negative, would better pique
interest of millennials and generate traffic to the pledge website. Participants
were informally asked to offer their general thoughts about each version of the
flyer as well as asked to select which one they would be more likely to follow the
call to action with.
Results

29

All participants selected the flyer that presented positive adjectives of

millennials as their preference, however, most participants noted that they
understood the point of using negative adjectives. When citing why the more
positive flyer was the preferred flyer, the participants offered statements that
described the copy as motivational. One participant went on to say, its
motivational and makes me feel reassured about my generation. Makes me feel
like we have purpose and can really get things done if we're proactive.
Additionally, others agreed that this is the way millennials want to view their
generation, but acknowledged that the generation as a whole might not fit the
description. They did feel, though, that it was enough to pique ones curiosity
enough to explore the hashtag and visit the website. One person stated that the
hashtag, #WeCare, was not specific enough. There was a general consensus
about the effectiveness of the negatively framed message. The participants
mentioned that the negative adjectives did not surprise them but indicated that
millennials might be deterred or offended rather than motivated by the
message. When asked about the quantity of information, all responded that the
simple copy was explicit enough to understand but simple enough to intrigue a
reader to learn more.
Implications/Improvements

30

Based on the pretest, it will prove to be more effective to set a positive tone for
the campaign when it comes to generating traffic to the pledge website.
Additionally, it can be implied that the entire campaign can better benefit from
a positive tone rather than a negative one. All media: Facebook, Twitter and
flyers will employ an encouraging theme that presents millennials as a
generation with a lot of potential. The website URL will remain,
www.MillennialsCare.com, but the hashtag will be altered to be specific to the
Millenials Care campaign. The new hashtag will be: #MillsCare in hopes that
people will only use it in the of the the campaign.

REFERENCES
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. (2011). Unlicensed to Kill. Retrieved from
https://www.aaafoundation.org/sites/default/files/2011Unlicensed2Kill.pdf.
Blomberg, R., Peck, R., Moskowitz, H., Burns, M., Fiorentino, D. (2009) The Long
Beach/Fort
Lauderdale relative risk study. Journal of Safety Research, 40(4), 285-292.

31

Council of Economic Advisers. (2014). 15 Economic facts about millennials. Retrieved

from
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials_report.pdf.
Centers for Disease and Control Prevention. (2014). Injury Prevention and Control:
Motor
Vehicle Safety. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/impaired
_driving /impaired-drv_factsheet.html.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior. Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley.
Generation Y. (2014). Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 1p. 1
Kim, K., Pant, P., Yamashita, E. (2008) Hit-and-Run Crashes: Use of Rough Set Analysis
with
Logistic Regression to Capture Critical Attributes and Determinants.
Transportation
Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, (2083), 114121.

32

Nabi, R. & Oliver, M. (2009). The Sage Handbook of Media Processes and Effects.
Theory of
Reasoned Action, 273-274.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2013). Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data.
Retrieved from http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811870.pdf.
Tay, R., Barua, U., Kattan, L. (2009). Factors contributing to hit-and-run in fatal crashes.
Accident Analysis and Prevention, 41 (2), 227-233.
Tay, R., Rifaat, S., Chin, H. (2008). A logistic model of the effects of roadway,
environmental,
vehicle, crash and driver characteristics on hit-and-run crashes. Accident Analysis
and
Prevention, 40(4), 1330-1336.
Zhang, G., Li, G., Cai, T., Bishai, D., Wu, C., Chan, Z. (2014). Factors contributing to hitand-run crashes in China. Transportation Research Part F, 23, 113-124.

33

APPENDICES
Online Questionnaire
Use the following scenario to answer questions 1-3.

Person A is a 22-year-old college student. Person A is driving down the highway when
they accidentally rear-end the car in front of them. Person A's front bumper is damaged
but the car can still be driven. Person B is driving the car that was rear-ended. Person
Bs rear bumper is detached and on the ground. There are no other witnesses. Person
A does not stop to exchange insurance information or to offer help.
1. What do you think are some possible reasons that Person A did not stop after

rear-ending
Person B?
2. What do you think are some possible consequences, if any, that Person A will
have to
face for not stopping after rear-ending Person B?
3. How likely or unlikely do you think it is that alcohol is a factor in Person A
choosing to not stop after rear-ending Person B?
a. Very Unlikely
b. Somewhat Unlikely
34

c. Somewhat Likely
d. Very Likely

4. Why do you think it is likely that alcohol is a factor in Person A choosing to not

stop
after rear-ending Person B? or
Why do you think it is unlikely that alcohol is a factor in Person A choosing to not
stop
after rear-ending Person B?
5. Do you drive?
a. Yes
b. No
6. Do you have a drivers license?
a. Yes
b. No
7. Are you and insured driver?
a. Yes
b. No
8. Have you or anyone you know ever been involved in a hit-and-run accident?
a. Yes
b. No
9. 2 out of every 3 traffic accidents result in a hit-and-run. Does this surprise you?
Why or why not?
10. How often do you think about social issues? For example how often do you think
about the environment, cancer awareness, world hunger, etc.?
a. Never
b. Rarely
c. Sometimes
d. Often
11. Where do you most prefer to get information about social issues?
a. Social Media
b. Newspaper or Journal Article
c. Magazine
d. Television
e. Outdoor Billboard
f. Radio
g. Friends and Family
12. What is your gender?
a. Male
b. Female
35

13. How old are you?

14. Have you ever been enrolled in a college or university?

a. Yes
b. No

15. You have reached the end of the survey. Thank you for participating. If there any

other comments or concerns, you may submit them here.

36

37

38