Content Analysis of the ‘It Can Wait’ Campaign

Content Analysis of the ‘It Can Wait’ Campaign
Introduction
Distracted driving is a major challenge and a serious safety concern among motorists, pedestrians, and other road users. According to a study published by the University of North Texas Health Science Center in 2010, texting while driving accounted for 16,000 fatalities from 2001 to 2007 in the United States (Smiley, 2018). The upsurge realized from the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s 2010 informed AT&T’s decision to launch an interventional campaign against distracted driving. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that crashes caused by distracted driving killed approximately 3,100 people and injured about 424,000 in 2019 in the U. S. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). The shocking revelations from the report further indicate that 1 in 5 of those who lost their lives in distracted driving crashes was not in vehicles. They were outside a vehicle, either riding their bikes or walking. Other agencies echoing the need for implementing an effective intervention against distracted driving was the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s report in 2016 showing that distracted driving accidents led to 3,450 fatalities and related injuries to over 390,000 people (Schroeder et al., 2018). A subsequent survey conducted by NHTSA in 2020 further indicated that over 3,000 people lost their lives in car crashes caused by distracted driving (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, n.d.).
Distracted driving refers to an individual’s engagement in other activities that divert their attention and concentration from driving. Such activities include texting or talking on the phone, eating and drinking, using the navigation system, and even talking to other people in the vehicle while driving. The outlined activities take the driver’s attention from effective execution of safe driving, thus increasing the likelihood of car crashes or endangerment to motorists, passengers, and other road users.
The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) made efforts towards raising awareness against texting while driving and is gaining recognition across the country for its impact on changing the risk driving behavior. Informed by the negative implications of distracted driving across the country’s roads, AT&T embarked on a massive advertising campaign in 2010 dubbed ‘It Can Wait’ to combat the risky behavior (Smiley, 2018). The ‘It Can Wait’ campaign has since undergone various transitions to accommodate the emerging trends in technological advances, accounting for the increased use of phones while behind the wheel for both young and older drivers. The messaging approach embraced in the campaign has equally shifted over the 12 years due to the increasing use of smartphones and now raises awareness about all forms of distracted driving.
Despite undergoing these transitions, the ‘It Can Wait’ campaign reflects meaningful use of the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) behind its messaging approach to influence a positive behavioral change among drivers across the stated age divide. The campaign’s efficacy is thus dependent on its ...