Speed Focus Group Generic Clearance Request

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB Control Number: 2127-0682)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: Focus Groups for Exploratory Research to Inform Communications Concepts and Messaging for Campaign Development to Decrease Highway Fatalities Related to Speeding

PURPOSE:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was authorized by the Highway Safety Act of 1966 to carry out a Congressional mandate to reduce the mounting number of deaths, injuries and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes on our Nation’s highways. In support of this mission, NHTSA is developing a new speeding-focused communications campaign to be implemented in 2015. One portion of the campaign will be in conjunction with high visibility enforcement efforts in various states. Another portion of the campaign will disseminate social norming messages concerning speeding, which can be used widely during time periods when high-visibility enforcement mobilizations are not in place.

Data collected by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) reported that 10,219 fatalities occurred in 2012 in speeding-related crashes. Consistently for each of the past ten years, speeding-related crashes accounted for 30% - 32% of crashes involving fatalities. Year-after-year, speeding has been one of the most prevalent factors contributing to crashes. This dangerous behavior has not been limited to just vehicle drivers. Motorcycle riders have also contributed to the statistics. In 2012, 34% of all motorcycle riders involved in fatal crashes were speeding. A segment of drivers/riders of particular concern (due to the high proportion of fatalities) is comprised of men ages 18-34. Fatality data have shown that the relative proportion of speeding-related crashes to all crashes, decreased as drivers’ ages increased. Male drivers ages 34 and younger accounted for significantly higher percentages of fatal crashes. An integral part of NHTSA’s communications campaign planning is further understanding of these drivers’/riders’ (1) rationales, risk perceptions and risk tolerances related to getting ticketed and/or being involved in crashes; and (2) considerations about several communications taglines, relative to speeding, currently used by states and/or NHTSA. Findings from such queries will be highly useful to NHTSA for further communications campaign development.

For gauging these opinions and perspectives, NHTSA seeks to use a qualitative research methodology in the form of focus groups. For NHTSA campaign development in the past, focus groups have provided an important role in gathering valuable insights and feedback because they allow for a more in-depth understanding of drivers’ attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and feelings than do quantitative studies. They provide the means of collecting both verbal remarks, as well as often-insightful non-verbal “responses.” Focus groups serve the narrowly defined need for direct and informal opinion on a specific topic (in this project, that topic being speeding).

NHTSA proposes conducting eight focus groups among men ages 18-34 and who self-report attitudes and behaviors that closely correlate to them being either “regular speeders” or “sometimes speeders” as characterized in NHTSA’s “2011 National Survey of Speeding Attitudes and Behaviors” study (contract #DTNH22-08-F-00129). Of the eight groups, participants in six will be vehicle drivers, and participants in two will be motorcycle riders. Groups will be conducted in states with significantly high numbers of speeding-related fatalities (both vehicles and motorcycles) than other parts of the country – specifically, North Carolina and Texas. This research will help refine and sharpen a communications approach that will be most effective in convincing drivers/riders to refrain from speeding. Focus groups will be a helpful means for gathering this information because they allow for more in-depth understanding of people’s attitudes, beliefs, and motivations than do other kinds of studies. If such information is not collected, it will be more difficult and less cost-effective for NHTSA to develop and distribute potentially life-saving messages to its target audience. 

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Focus group respondents will consist of men ages 18 to 34 who mirror profiles of “regular speeders” or “sometimes speeders” as characterized in NHTSA’s “2011 National Survey of Speeding Attitudes and Behaviors” study (contract #DTNH22-08-F-00129). In six groups, people who primarily drive vehicles (automobiles, pick-up trucks, SUVs, etc.) will participate. In two groups, people who primarily ride motorcycles will participate. In each group, seven to nine pre-screened individuals will be seated. However, in keeping with conventional focus group recruiting standards, twelve individuals will be recruited for each group in anticipation of seven to nine actually arriving. Should more than nine arrive on time, only nine will be seated in the group, and the others will be released (as well as paid their promised incentives).

Each group is projected to last 90 minutes (in addition to an “arrive early” window of 15 minutes that will be encouraged).

Due to these locations’ high speeding-related fatality rates, groups will be conducted in these communities:

Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina

• 3 groups of vehicle drivers

• 1 group of motorcycle riders

Dallas, Texas

• 3 groups of vehicle drivers

• 1 group of motorcycle riders

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[X] Focus Group [ ] Other: ____________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name:____Susan McMeen____________________________________________

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, will any information that is collected be included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Yes, has an up-to-date System of Records Notice (SORN) been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ X] Yes [ ] No

Each respondent will be provided with up to $75 following his participation in a focus group session. This amount is in line with the industry standard, relative to focus group participation by people in the target market. These industry-standard stipends help to ensure that respondents can be recruited efficiently and ensure their arrival and participation in the groups. These standards exist to provide fair compensation for costs incurred by participants while attending groups, based on the location of and expenses in each market. As noted earlier, pre-screened and invited respondents who arrive on time but are released prior to the group will also be awarded their stipends (also in keeping with marketing research industry standards).

BURDEN HOURS

No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Average Burden per Response (hours)	Total Burden Hours
96 (recruits)	1	10 minutes (1/6-hours) phone interview	16
72 (participants)	1	105 minutes (1-and-3/4-hours) pre-group arrival plus discussion	126
24 (recruits arriving, but released prior to participation)	1	15 minutes (1/4-hours) pre-group arrival	6
		Total hours:	148 hours

TOTAL BURDER HOURS: 148 hours

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $66,210.

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ X] Yes [ ] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

Please see recruitment screener attached.

Each focus group facility does the recruiting on NHTSA’s behalf, per the screener NHTSA provides.  The facility’s recruiting staff works primarily from a pool within their proprietary database of people in that particular marketplace who have previously submitted demographic, lifestyle and product preference information.  So based on submission of NHTSA’s screener, the recruitment manager will filter the database to search for potential male respondents in the project’s 18-34 year-old age group (and any other relevant specs if the facility happens to have one or more of those other criteria established in the database).  Then the recruiters will place telephone calls to those potential respondents to administer the full screener.

 

If there is more than one person in a household ages 18-34, the recruiter will screen only the first one willing to be screened.  This will prevent multiple respondents from the same household.

 

After going through the database, if the recruiters can't fill the project’s total numbers and/or quotas, the secondary step is the facility procuring sample from any of numerous national sample providers of names, addresses and phone numbers.  The recruiters then make phone calls to this list until the recruiting is completed.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[X] Telephone

[X] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X ] Yes [ ] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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