1. Objective:
The purpose of the Campaign against Texting and Driving is to discourage drivers on the
Virginia Tech campus from texting while operating a motor vehicle and decrease the percentage
of drivers on campus that text while driving. It is the hope of the Student Government
Association that providing the Hokie community with information about the dangers of texting
and driving.
Background:
In June of 2013 the Virginia State Code was amended to prohibited drivers (other than
emergency vehicle operators) from sending or reading text messages under any circumstance
other than reporting an emergency. (§ 46.2-1078.1) This new legislation coupled with recent
studies (completed by researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, VTTI, which
also informed the Virginia State Crime Commission in their study of texting and driving)
quantifying the dangers of texting while driving, brought the issue to the attention of the Virginia
Tech Student Government Association (SGA). This indicates that the campaign is timely. The
SGA Director of Transportation subsequently began developing a campaign to address this issue
and formed a partnership with VTTI to assist in analyzing and disseminating information. The
objective of this campaign is to reduce the percentage of drivers, on the Virginia Tech campus,
that text while driving.
Methods:
The Virginia Tech Student Government Association’s Campaign against Texting and Driving
will take place in a series of cycles. Each cycle will consist of periods of data collection, analysis
and dissemination. Ideally multiple cycles would occur during each semester so that data will be
framed by time periods campus users (students and University faculty and staff) are accustomed
to operating in thus making it most accessible. Additionally, multiple cycles will allow campus
users to observe how increased awareness of the issue (texting and driving) affects driving habits
on campus over time.
Analysis:

2. Appendix
International Research Board Approval
Office of Research Compliance
Institutational Review Board
North End Center, Suite 4120, Virginia Tech
300 Turner Street NW
Blacksburg, Virginia
24061 540/231-4606
Fax 540/231-0959
email irb@vt.edu
website http://www.irb.vt.edu
MEMORANDUM
DATE: April 16, 2014
TO: Jaime L Williams,GregoryMalcolmJohnFitch,Mackenzie Jarvis
FROM: VirginiaTechInstitutional Review Board(FWA00000572, expiresApril 25,2018)
PROTOCOL TITLE: TextingandDrivingObservational Study
IRB NUMBER: 14-379
Effective April 16,2014, the VirginiaTechInstitutionReview Board(IRB) Chair,DavidMMoore,
approvedthe NewApplicationrequestforthe above-mentionedresearchprotocol.
Thisapproval providespermissiontobeginthe humansubjectactivitiesoutlinedinthe IRB-
approvedprotocol andsupportingdocuments.
Plansto deviate fromthe approvedprotocol and/orsupportingdocumentsmustbe submitted
to the IRB as an amendmentrequestandapprovedbythe IRBpriorto the implementationof
any changes,regardlessof howminor,exceptwhere necessarytoeliminateapparentimmediate
hazardsto the subjects.Reportwithin5businessdaystothe IRB any injuriesorother
unanticipatedoradverse eventsinvolvingrisksorharmsto humanresearchsubjectsorothers.
All investigators (listedabove) are requiredtocomplywiththe researcherrequirements
outlinedat:http://www.irb.vt.edu/pages/responsibilities.htm
(Please review responsibilitiesbeforethe commencementof yourresearch.)
PROTOCOLINFORMATION:
Approved As: Exempt,under45 CFR 46.110 category(ies) 2
Protocol Approval Date: April 16, 2014
Protocol Expiration Date: N/A
Continuing Review Due Date*: N/A

3. *Date a ContinuingReviewapplicationisdue tothe IRB office if humansubjectactivitiescovered
underthisprotocol,includingdataanalysis,are tocontinue beyondthe Protocol ExpirationDate.
FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCHREQUIREMENTS:
Perfederal regulations,45CFR 46.103(f), the IRB is requiredtocompare all federallyfunded
grant proposals/workstatementstothe IRB protocol(s) whichcoverthe humanresearch
activitiesincludedinthe proposal /workstatementbefore fundsare released.Note thatthis
requirementdoesnotapplytoExemptandInterimIRBprotocols,or grantsfor whichVT isnot
the primaryawardee.
The table on the followingpage indicateswhethergrantproposalsare relatedtothisIRB
protocol,andwhichof the listedproposals, if any,have beencomparedtothisIRBprotocol,if
required.
IRB Number 14-379 page 2 of 2 Virginia Tech Institutional ReviewBoard
Date* OSP
Number
Sponsor Grant Comparison Conducted?
* Date thisproposal numberwascompared,assessedasnotrequiringcomparison,or
comparisoninformationwasrevised.
If this IRB protocol isto coverany othergrant proposals,pleasecontactthe IRB office
(irbadmin@vt.edu) immediately.

4. CampaignProtocol
The Campaign against Texting and Driving
1. Purpose: The purpose of the Campaign against Texting and Driving is to
discourage drivers on the Virginia Tech campus from texting while operating a
motor vehicle and decrease the percentage of drivers on campus that text while
driving.
2. Additional Authority:
a. Virginia State Law - § 46.2-1078.1
b. Virginia Tech Student Government Association – Constitution of the
Student Government Association of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University and the Bylaws of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University Study Government Association
c. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
3. Scope: This campaign will study all individuals operating motor vehicles on the
Virginia Tech campus. The data dissemination will be directed at Virginia Tech
students, faculty and staff.
4. Responsible Party: The Virginia Tech Student Government Association will be
the party responsible for conducting and subsequently utilizing this campaign.
The organization’s Director of Transportation will oversee the campaign with the
collaboration Transportation Committee and the support of the Virginia Tech
Transportation Institute.
5. Definitions:
a. Data cycles: Cycles consisting of data collection periods, followed by
analysis periods and finally, dissemination periods.
b. SGA: Student Government Association. For the purposes of this protocol,
SGA always refers to the Virginia Tech Student Government Association.
c. “Texting”: for the purpose of this protocol and the data collection and
distribution portions of the campaign, “texting” will refer to the visual
manipulation of a personal cellular device.
d. VTTI: Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
6. Policy Statement: In June of 2013 the Virginia State Code was amended to
prohibited drivers (other than emergency vehicle operators) from sending or
reading text messages under any circumstance other than reporting an
emergency. (§ 46.2-1078.1) This new legislation coupled with recent studies
(completed by researchers at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, VTTI,

5. which also informed the Virginia State Crime Commission in their study of texting
and driving) quantifying the dangers of texting while driving, brought the issue to
the attention of the Virginia Tech Student Government Association (SGA). This
indicates that the campaign is timely. The SGA Director of Transportation
subsequently began developing a campaign to address this issue and formed a
partnership with VTTI to assist in analyzing and disseminating information. The
objective of this campaign is to reduce the percentage of drivers, on the Virginia
Tech campus, that text while driving.
a. Policy: Students will be recruited (these students may or may not have
previous associations with the Student Government) to serve as data
collectors. The data collectors will be provided with a data collection app
for their mobile devices (alternatively work sheets will be provided for data
collection and the information will later be entered, by the individual
collectors, into a shared database) and asked to observe traffic at a given
station on campus. These stations will be areas on campus that
experience significant traffic volume throughout the day. During their
observations data collectors will tally each motor vehicle that passes them,
indicating if each driver was “texting” or not. The data from all collectors
will later be collated, after an allotted collection period has concluded. The
data will then be analyzed, recorded in a format that is easily accessible
and decimated to the Virginia Tech community. After a series of data
cycles have occurred, trends will be isolated and also shared with the
Virginia Tech community. Students, faculty and staff will then be
encouraged to work together as the “Hokie family” to either maintain a
downward trend in the percentages of texting drivers or work to create
one. Data cycles will continue until the objectives of the campaign have
been achieved.
i. Procedure:
1. Determine high traffic volume areas on campus.
2. Determine data collection periods.
3. Create a data collection and analysis platform.
a. This may include mobile phone app development and
corresponding databases or paper and pen collection
systems and corresponding databases.
4. Recruit students to serve as data collectors. These students
may or may not have a pre-existing connection with SGA.
a. Assign students to pre-determined locations on
campus.
b. Provide students with data collection platforms.
5. Close data collection period.

6. 6. Analyze collected data and create methods of reporting the
data to the Virginia Tech community.
a. Preferable reports are accessible and may include,
but are not limited to, graphs, charts and short
descriptions.
7. Data collection cycles will continue until the objectives of the
campaign are achieved.
7. Objectives: The objective of this campaign will be to reduce the percentage of
drivers on the Virginia Tech campus that text while operating motor vehicles.
After the first data cycle has concluded, a feasibly achievable goal will be
determined and a time frame to achieve this goal will be set. This will ensure that
goals are measurable and obtainable.

7. Instructions for Data Collectors
Hey Hokies!
Thank youso muchfor volunteeringtohelpwiththe campaignagainsttextinganddriving!
Textingwhile drivingmakesyou23 timesmore likelytocrash(National HighwayTransportationSafety
Administration) andhasrecently(June,2013) become illegal in the state of Virginiayetpeoplestilldoit.
Evensome Hokies.The objectiveof thiscampaignistoraise awarenessof,anddiscourage textingwhile
driving.The campaignwill consistof aseriesof datacollectioncycles.Eachcycle will have three periods:
data collection,analysisanddisseminationof results.Volunteerswillbe involvedinthe datacollection
period.
Procedure:
 Collectorswill observetrafficatanyone (perobservationperiod) of the predetermined
locationsaroundcampus,at theirconvenience,foranyperiodof time exceeding5minutes.
These stationsexperience hightrafficflow andwill be observedatvaryingtimesanddates.
 Collectorswill observepassingtrafficandrecordthe following,viaanapplicationorwebsite for
mobile devices:
o The locationof observation
o Time frame of data collection
o The numberof vehiclesthatpass
 The numberof vehicleswithdriversthatare “texting”
 The numberof vehicleswithdriversthatare “not texting”
 Data will thenbe submittedtothe campaignconductor(the SGA Directorof Transportation) to
be analyzedandsharedwiththe VirginiaTechcommunity.
Collection methods:
The collectorwill be providedwithanapplication(inthe case of AndroidDevices) orwebsite (Inthe case
of IOSdevices) tobe usedontheirmobile device.
 Collectorswill be requiredtologintothe application(orsite) usingtheirVirginiaTechPID anda
campaign-widepasswordbutshouldnotdosountil theyhave arrivedattheirassignedlocation.
o For Androiddevices:the applicationmaybe downloadedfromthe appstore
o For IOSdevices:the collectorwillbe givenaURL. Theyshouldaccesstheirweb browser
and enterthe URL. Afterlogginginthe collectormayuse the share icon at the bottomof
the screento “Save to Home Page”.This will create aniconfor the site onthe device’s
home screenandallowforeasyaccess.(Addingthe site tothe device’shome page is
optional,the applicationmayalsobe useddirectlyfromthe webbrowser.)
 Whenthe collectorisat one of the specifiedobservationlocations,theyshouldaccessthe app
and loginwiththeirPID andpassword.The app will recordthe collector’sidentification,
locationandpromptthe collectortostart a timer.

8.  The collectorshouldthenobserve trafficflow andmake adata entryfor each vehicle thatpasses
them.
o All typesof vehiclesshouldbe included.
o For eachvehicle the collector shouldrecordif the driverwastextingornot.Thisis done
by tappingeitherthe “Yes”todenote the driveris“texting”or“No”,to denote thatthey
were not,buttonsinthe app.
 For the purposesof thiscampaign,“texting”willbe consideredanyobserved
manipulationof atelephone.Pleasesee the “ImportantInformation”sectionto
reviewexactlywhatthismeans.
 If the data collectormistakenlyrecordsanincorrectdataentry,pressthe
“Undo” buttonin the app.
 Pressingthisbuttonwill undothe mostrecentdataentry.
 The collectorshouldthenendthe timerandlogout of the application.The datacollectedwill
automaticallypopulateadatabase.Itisveryimportantthat collectorslogoutof the application
at the conclusionof anobservationperiod!
Please note:
 Collectorscanobserve andcollectdataat any time onany day of the week,unlessotherwise
instructedbythe projectleader(s).
 Observationperiodsmaybe aslong as isconvenientforthe collectorbut shouldnotbe shorter
than 5 minutes.
 If there are any issueswithanobservationperiodordataset,the collectorshouldnotifythe
campaignconductorwho can thenaddressthe issue ordiscardthe compromiseddata.
 If a collectorhasany questions,theycanandshouldcontact the campaignconductordirectly.
Important Information:
Accordingto the National HighwaySafetyAdministration’s(NHSA) National OccupantProtectionUse
Survey(NOPUS),the actof texting while drivingiscategorizedasvisual manipulationof ahandheld
device.Forthe purposesof thisstudywe will adhere tothe NOPUSdefinitionof thiscategory:
Drivers are classified into this category if they appearto be manipulating sometypeof electronic
device such as a cell phone,a smartphone,PDA,video game,orsomeotherdevice. This
includes textmessaging;using a Web-capablesmartphone(such asan iPhone) ora PDA (such
as a BlackBerry phone) to viewtravel directions,check e-mailsor calendarappointments,orsurf
the Internet;manualdialing;playing hand-held games;and holding phonesin frontof their face
to converseorcheck messagesvia speakerphoneorusevoice-activated dialing. Manipulation of
the non-hand- held devices(adjusting volumeon stereos,pressing but- tonson a dashboard GPS
unit,etc.) is not included in this category.
So, what should you lookfor?
 Driversholdingaphone infrontof theirface
 Thumbsor fingersmovingona phone
 Driverslookingdown(asif there were aphone ontheirlap) for2 or more seconds

9. What if?
 You aren’t sure if you shouldrecord a driveras texting -> record the driveras “nottexting”
o If there is visiblyaphone onthe driver’slapbutthe driverisnotinteractingwithit ->
thisisnot manipulationof the phone,recordas“nottexting”
 The vehicle issittingstill (i.e.atan intersection) ->recordthe driver as “texing” or “not
texting” regardless
 You are unsure if the vehicle isinthe observationlocation ->thispacketincludes imagesof each
observationlocation.There isared arrow drawn oneach location,recorddata forthe driver
once the vehicle hascrossedsaidarrow.
 You make a mistake inrecordingthe data -> there isan “undo”buttonin the app.pressingthis
buttonwill undothe mostrecentdata entry.
Observation Locations and times:
These locationswere selectedbecause theyexperience hightrafficflow andare keylocationsonthe
Blacksburgcampus.
1. Drill Field,BurussHall

10. 2. Drill Field,WarMemorial Hall
3. WashingtonSt.

11. 4. StangerSt.
5. WestCampusDr.
That’s all for now:
Thank youagain,you’re helpwiththiscampaignwill provide the Universityandthe Hokie community
withinvaluabledataandhopefullywillencourage achange forthe better!
-Keepmovingforward,Mackenzie Jarvis
2013-2014 SGA Directorof Transportation

12. Campaign Branding