Drive in the Moment: An evaluation of a web-based tool designed to reduce smartphone use among young drivers

Abstract

Objective

Young drivers are overrepresented in road traffic crashes and fatalities. Distracted driving, including use of a smartphone while driving (SWD), is a major risk factor for crashes for this age group. We evaluated a web-based tool (Drive in the Moment or DITM) designed to reduce SWD among young drivers.

Methods

A pretest-posttest experimental design with a follow-up was used to assess the efficacy of the DITM intervention on SWD intentions and behaviors, and perceived risk (of having a crash and of being apprehended by the police) associated with SWD. One hundred and eighty young drivers (aged 17-25 years old) were randomly assigned to either the DITM intervention or a control group where participants completed an unrelated activity. Self-reported measures of SWD and perceptions of risk were obtained pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention and at a follow-up 25 days after the intervention.

Results

Participants who engaged with the DITM showed a significant reduction in the number of times they used their SWD at follow-up compared to their pre-intervention scores. Future intentions to SWD were also reduced from pre-intervention to post-intervention and follow-up. There was also an increase in the perceived risk of SWD following the intervention.

Conclusions

Our evaluation of DITM suggests that the intervention had an impact on reducing SWD among young drivers. Further research is needed to establish which particular elements of the DITM are associated with reductions in SWD and whether similar findings would be identified in other age groups.

Keywords:

• Young drivers
• distracted driving
• cell phones
• mobile phones
• evaluation

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr Kate O’Donnell and Michelle Quester from the AAA for their support throughout this project. We would also like to thank Justine Spinocchia for her assistance in data collection.

Credit author statement

Patricia M. Brown: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal Analysis, Writing-Original Draft, Funding Acquisition. Amanda M. George: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Review and Editing, Funding Acquisition. Jeroen J. A. van Boxtel: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal Analysis, Writing – Review and Editing, Funding Acquisition. Aiden Lewis: Methodology, Investigation, Data Curation, Writing – Review and Editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflicts of interest were reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Fédération Internationale de l‘Automobile and the Australian Automobile Association