TY - JOUR
T1 - The Safer Driver App Decreases Mobile Phone Induced Distracted Driving
T2 - Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial
AU - van Vliet, Christine
AU - Bautrenaite, Patricija
AU - Yavari, Milad
AU - McCracken, Anita
AU - Palmbachs, Nikki
AU - Fontaine, Bertrand
AU - Put, Claudia
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024, Australasian College of Road Safety. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - When using a mobile phone while driving, people are more at risk of causing or being in a crash. To address distracted driving behaviours related to mobile phone use, we developed a mobile coaching app, Safer Driver. The app collects data on a person’s driving behaviour and implements behavioural change techniques to help people make smart changes to reduce their distracted driving behaviour. Initially 814 participants were randomly assigned to a 30-day trial period of the Safer Driver app (intervention group, n=573) or the control app (control group, n=241). The control app did not provide any coaching and only collected driving behaviour data. We measured the relative distraction duration score as a proximal outcome. Only participants who were assessed as distracted drivers at the start of the trial were included in our main analysis. This resulted in 182 distracted drivers in the intervention condition who interacted with the Safer Driver app and 86 distracted drivers in the control condition. In line with our hypothesis, the relative distraction duration score was significantly lower at the end of the trial period for distracted drivers who received digital coaching via the Safer Driver app, compared to distracted drivers who received the control app. The findings from this trial indicate that digital coaching via a smartphone application has the potential to decrease mobile phone usage while driving. Digital coaching is a promising way of changing people’s behaviour towards safer driving habits.
AB - When using a mobile phone while driving, people are more at risk of causing or being in a crash. To address distracted driving behaviours related to mobile phone use, we developed a mobile coaching app, Safer Driver. The app collects data on a person’s driving behaviour and implements behavioural change techniques to help people make smart changes to reduce their distracted driving behaviour. Initially 814 participants were randomly assigned to a 30-day trial period of the Safer Driver app (intervention group, n=573) or the control app (control group, n=241). The control app did not provide any coaching and only collected driving behaviour data. We measured the relative distraction duration score as a proximal outcome. Only participants who were assessed as distracted drivers at the start of the trial were included in our main analysis. This resulted in 182 distracted drivers in the intervention condition who interacted with the Safer Driver app and 86 distracted drivers in the control condition. In line with our hypothesis, the relative distraction duration score was significantly lower at the end of the trial period for distracted drivers who received digital coaching via the Safer Driver app, compared to distracted drivers who received the control app. The findings from this trial indicate that digital coaching via a smartphone application has the potential to decrease mobile phone usage while driving. Digital coaching is a promising way of changing people’s behaviour towards safer driving habits.
KW - behaviour change
KW - digital coaching
KW - mobile phone induced distracted driving
KW - road safety
KW - smartphone app
U2 - 10.33492/JRS-D-24-2-2133200
DO - 10.33492/JRS-D-24-2-2133200
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85195380875
SN - 2652-4260
VL - 35
SP - 3
EP - 13
JO - Journal of Road Safety
JF - Journal of Road Safety
IS - 2
ER -