Less means more when it comes to fear appeals and teenage drivers

Existing road safety campaigns, while effective for many age groups, have failed to inoculate young drivers. The authors are seeking to address this anomaly by accessing recalcitrant drivers within the tertiary student population. The project has two main aims: first to investigate whether involvement in the creation of road safety messages can improve the attitudes and behavioural intentions of students involved in the study; and second, to identify creative solutions that might encourage prophylactic practices among novice drivers. This builds on a previous paper on teenagers' responses to road safety advertising and analyses a range of integrated campaigns produced by novice drivers during an action learning project. The results provide important policy insights, including alternatives to the current (and questionable) use of fear appeals to motivate behavioural change among young drivers.