Summary Report: Comparative Effectiveness of Alternative Smartphone-Based Nudges to Reduce Cellphone Use While Driving: Final Report

Behavioral interventions, strategies commonly used in medicine and public health to encourage positive behaviors in individuals or groups of people, demonstrated prior successes that may be applied to reduce distracted driving. Across two nationwide, randomized controlled trials involving Progressive Snapshot customers, researchers for this study tested interventions designed to reduce hand-held phone use while driving. In trial 1 of this study, participants were randomly assigned to one of six trial groups, or “arms,” for a 50-d intervention period: control; weekly social comparison feedback; delayed, lump-sum financial incentive; weekly social comparison feedback plus delayed, lump-sum financial incentive; weekly social comparison feedback plus weekly loss-framed financial incentives; and weekly social comparison feedback plus doubled weekly loss-framed financial incentives, respectively. Trial 2’s interventions focused on shifting participants from a risky habit (hand-held phone use while driving) to a less risky one (hands-free use) over the course of a 70-d intervention period. Taken together, these trials demonstrate the importance of social comparison feedback and modest financial incentives for motivating drivers to cut back on handheld phone use, a major source of distraction.

• Record URL:
  • https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/22057/22057.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/22057/index.cfm
• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/61036
• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  Research, Development and Technology
  6300 Georgetown Pike
  McLean, VA  United States  22101
• Authors:
  • Ebert, Jeffrey
  • Xiong, Aria
  • Halpern, Scott
  • Winston, Flaura
  • McDonald, Catherine
  • Rosin, Roy
  • Volpp, Kevin
  • Barnett, Ian
  • Small, Dylan
  • Wiebe, Douglas
  • Abdel-Rahman, Dina
  • Hemmons, Jessica
  • Finegold, Rafi
  • Kotrc, Ben
  • Radford, Emma
  • Fisher, William
  • Gaba, Kristen
  • Everett, William
  • Delgado, M Kit
• Publication Date: 2022-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 26p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Distraction; Drivers; Incentives; Smartphones
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01838649
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-HRT-22-057
• Contract Numbers: 693JJ31750012
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Mar 16 2022 10:19AM