To what extent has the use of English in traffic advertising an effect on young people's driving behaviour in foreign countries? A comparison between the Netherlands and Spain.

Abstract

This research investigated whether the use of English as foreign language influences young drivers to not use their phone while driving. An experiment was conducted amongst Dutch and Spanish drivers to compare if English could function as an unexpected element to catch the drivers’ attention. Dutch people are familiar with English, while Spanish people prefer to avoid English. Attitude towards the native language and English were taken into consideration, just as driver experience. For both nationalities three different advertisements were created, a native version, a mixed version of English and native language and a fully English version. Results suggest that advertising in the native language is more effective in convincing young drivers of not using their phone while driving than with the surprising use of English. The differences in the English proficiency and the drivers experience were substantial between the Netherlands and Spain.