Essay on Community Outreach - Turn Signals

Submitted By Jeff-Breckon
Words: 1041
Pages: 5

Community Outreach

CUL623

Signal for Safety is a non-profit organization founded and geared towards raising the awareness of using automotive turn signals whenever an operator is behind the wheel of an automobile, no matter what. It really is that simple, a small stick that moves up and down on the steering column of every car and truck, a few flashing light bulbs on the front and rear of these very same cars and trucks. Contrary to what appears to be the norm, through lack of turn signal usage, most states do have laws, albeit ones that are rarely enforced, that mandate the use of turn signals. According to a report from the Society of Automotive engineers, author Richard Ponziani stated “Nationwide, neglected or improper turn signals cause 2 million car accidents a year” (Vallet, 2012). In his article on MSN Money, Mark Vallet stated, “Improper and unsafe lane changes were the “fifth most common cause of accidents, and turning improperly was No. 7” (Vallet, 2012). Regardless of Arizona’s known and unknown laws as they apply to turn signal usage, it is our intention to raise awareness about the impact of using turn signals to improve overall driver awareness and promote courtesy and safety in the community. Through this campaign we would be reaching out to the Caucasian, Hispanic and growing Asian population of the greater Phoenix area. The Phoenix area has always had a large and continually growing Hispanic community, but did you know that according to the 2010 Arizona Census there were 85,000 new Asians that migrated to Arizona since 2000? (Gonzalez, 2011). Reaching out to a diverse cultural environment will be challenging and in the interest of maximizing the amount of funding by focusing on only one or two different design ideas, we will be engaging in this campaign to raise awareness through billboards throughout the valley, printed signs to display at participating grocery stores and vendors, third-party auto registration locations and Department of Transportation outlets. We will also distribute accompanying flyers with the same message but with a little more verbiage focusing still on safety, but also speaking to the cost savings that accident avoidance through heightened used of turn signals can offer. Penny Gusner, consumer analyst at CarInsurance.com states “a failure-to-signal citation could affect your insurance by costing you your good-driver discount, by as much as 25%” (Vallet, 2012). The ads will be simple, a picture of a turn signal, and only a few short words regarding the safety implications of using them, this will be framed around safety of family members, caring for your loved ones is a universally acknowledged principle, and this campaign is geared towards one thing; saving lives and preventing injuries through something as simple as flicking a switch up or down when you turn or change lanes. Through this indirect approach we can quickly deliver the idea of better safety through turn signals and remain ambiguous, the message works everywhere and with all intended target cultures without calling out any one group, without conveying the message “hey driver(s), you’re not doing this.” This is a message that should be received by all who see it and at the very least put the idea of using turn signals back into the minds of all the drivers who see it, regardless of their nationality. This is currently the simple example of the billboard/signage idea:

The flyers we generate will be along the same lines, a simple picture of a turn signal, an indirect and informal approach. The picture of the turn signal will form the context and quickly convey the message that turn-signals enhance safety, however on the flyers we will have the extra verbiage to those who are more intrigued by the image, we will show statistical figures from the Society of Automotive Engineers regarding the “2 million accidents caused by failure to use signals” which is a more