Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on September 14, 2005
Journal of Public Health 2005 27(4):318-325; doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdi049
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Unsafe driving in North American automobile commercials
Phillip C. Shin
Phillip C. Shin, MD, Fellow, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5
David Hallett
David Hallett, MSc, PhD, Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5
Mary L. Chipman
Mary L. Chipman, MA, Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5
Charles Tator
Charles Tator, MD, PhD, Professor of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5; ThinkFirst, Canada
John T. Granton
John T. Granton, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1X5
Address correspondence to John T. Granton. Email: john.granton{at}uhn.on.ca
Background Motor-vehicle crashes (MVCs) are a leading cause of death of young Americans and Canadians. Aggressive driving and driving at high speed are frequently cited as contributing to crashes. Consumer and safety associations have raised concern that driving behaviour portrayed in automobile commercials may influence consumer-driving behaviour. However, the prevalence of aggressive driving in automobile commercials has not been systematically evaluated.
Objectives To identify the prevalence and types of unsafe driving that are portrayed in United States and Canadian televised automobile commercials as well as the use of safety promotion and disclaimers.
Design All English language automobile and truck commercials (
30 seconds in length), airing nationally on major broadcast and cable networks in either the United States or Canada during January or July between 1998 and 2002 were assessed by three independent raters for the presence and type of unsafe driving activity, presence of safety promotion and the use of written disclaimers in each commercial.
Results Of 250 total commercials, 113 (45 per cent) contained an unsafe driving sequence as determined by at least two of three raters. Unanimous agreement as to the presence of an unsafe driving sequence was found in 63 (25 per cent) commercials. Aggressive driving accounted for 85 per cent of the unsafe driving sequences, including 56 per cent with speed violations. Safety promotion was present in 30 (12 per cent) commercials. Of 141 commercials in which the gender /sex of the driver was shown, 115 (81 per cent) displayed a male driver.
Conclusion Unsafe driving is prevalent in North American automobile commercials. Given the extent to which MVCs are a public health and economic concern, this finding seems in conflict with responsible advertising. The degree to which the portrayal of driving in automobile commercials affects consumer-driving behaviour should be an area of further investigation.
Keywords: automobile advertising, motor-vehicle crashes, trauma