Promoting Safety Belt Use on a University Campus: An Integration of Commitment and Incentive Strategies¹

Abstract

Safety belt use on a university campus was substantially increased by offering faculty/ staff and students who signed and returned “buckle up” pledge cards the opportunity to win prizes donated by community merchants. The 28,000 pledge cards, committing signers to buckle up for an academic quarter, were distributed during the spring and fall of 1985. One portion of the card was designed to be hung from a vehicle's rearview mirror as a reminder of the pledge to buckle up. The other portion served as a sweepstakes ticket and was deposited in boxes located throughout the campus community. Each quarter, winners were drawn from the returned pledge cards during three consecutive weeks. Although a relatively small proportion of the pledge cards were signed and turned in (i.e., 11.9% during spring and 9.4% during fall), those who signed and returned a pledge card (n = 3117) increased their safety belt use significantly. Across both quarters, faculty/ staff pledgers went from a high pre‐pledge belt use level of 32.2% to a post‐pledge level of 46.7%, and students increased their belt use from a pre‐pledge use of 21.4% to a post‐pledge level of 36.6%.