Risky Driving Attitudes in Ghana: Is the Use of Fear-Based Messages Operational?

Abstract

Scare tactics are often used in road safety campaigns even though years of research into fear appeals have yielded inconsistent results. In Ghana, where all efforts are being made to reduce traffic accidents, the use of fear appeals and threat of enforcement has not been spared. In an experimental study, the researchers investigated the effectiveness of this message on risky driving attitude and also explored the effect of an alternative strategy, fear of prosecution. Findings from this study suggest that fear appeals, fear of prosecution and combination of these two strategies do not have an effect on risky driving attitudes. These findings are used to make conclusions about the design of road safety campaigns incorporating such scare tactics.