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No-Zone Campaign Goals and Activities Report

The No-Zone Campaign Goals and Activities Report, was completed March 1997, below is the executive summary of this report. You can also view a full copy of the report in Microsoft Word - No-Zone Campaign Goals and Activities Report.

This report presents an overview of the No-Zone Campaign's goals and activities to date, and future campaign plans. Key observations are that: the campaign is designed to help reduce car-truck crashes; a principal campaign goal is to increase motorist awareness of truck and bus driver limitations; and the campaign has made significant accomplishments in a short time.

The Campaign is Designed to Help Reduce Car-Truck Crashes. Concerned with the number of crashes between passenger vehicles and CMVs, the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Motor Carriers (OMC) began exploring ways through public outreach methods to decrease the number of car/CMV crashes and ultimately reduce fatalities, injuries, and property damage. The campaign is also a response to Congress's request in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) that the FHWA "educate the motoring public about how to safely share the road with commercial vehicles."

The No-Zone represents danger areas around trucks where crashes are more likely to occur. These No-Zone areas are blind spots where passenger vehicles tend to disappear from the view of truck and bus drivers. While all vehicles have blind spot areas, large trucks and buses have much larger blind spots than cars.

OMC-sponsored focus group studies conducted with motorists, the highway safety community, and trucking industry officials indicated that a reduction of crashes involving cars and large trucks or buses might be possible if motorists are made aware of their limitations. OMC used this information to develop the No-Zone Campaign as a nationwide public outreach effort to educate motorists about large truck and bus limitations.

A Principal Campaign Goal is to Increase Motorist Awareness of CMV Limitations. The No-Zone Campaign has made great advances in educating the public how to safely share the road with CMVs. The specific goals of the campaign are to:

• Manage the campaign effectively
  
  
• Educate the motoring public how to safely share the road with CMVs
  
  
• Increase motorist awareness of CMV limitations
  
  
• Reduce car-truck related fatal crashes by 10 percent over a 5-year period
  
  
• Maintain existing and develop new partnerships with organizations dedicated to promoting highway safety
  
  
• Provide follow-up and evaluation of No-Zone Campaign activities.
  
  
• The Campaign Has Achieved Significant Accomplishments in a Short Time. Since the inception of the No-Zone Campaign, the campaign's message has been seen and heard throughout the country at such places as highway rest areas, schools, conventions, conferences, driver education classes, state fairs, and shopping malls. The No-Zone message has also been presented on the radio, on television, on billboards, and in trade journals, magazines, and daily newspapers nationwide. The type of outreach used for the No-Zone Campaign has been extensive, and at least 29 states report active involvement in promoting No-Zone Campaign messages. The reach of the campaign continues to expand. This report discusses the wide range of public outreach methods currently used and indicates new ideas for further expansion. Findings reveal that:
  
  
• Over $3 million has been granted to 29 states since the inception of the campaign to help with No-Zone Campaign outreach.
  
  
• The majority of the states participating in the No-Zone Campaign coordinates their outreach activities with other traffic safety-related organizations and target their activities to large public events such as safety forums and state fairs.
  
  
• Television, radio, and print public service announcements have been created, distributed extensively throughout the U.S., and tracked by media monitoring companies. Other free media opportunities such as Letters to the Editor, television and radio talk shows, press releases, and articles in trade publications can be expanded further.
  
  
• Outreach strategies used by some states that can be implemented by additional states include establishing a recognition program for participants, purchasing highway billboard space, involving driver education teachers, and establishing regional No-Zone working groups.
  
  
• Carriers displaying No-Zone decals on their CMVs is a very popular stakeholder activity.

The No-Zone Campaign May Be Expanded in the Future. The foundation of the No-Zone Campaign has been established and the campaign has progressed into an evolving program. Future campaign plans are: continue to enhance the campaign's message and material, partner with similar Share the Road programs, and investigate options for establishing a national Share the Road Coalition.

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