Evaluating a smartphone application to increase the quantity and improve the quality of supervised practice driving

Abstract

BackgroundThe learner stage of graduated driver licensing (GDL), when teenagers are supervised by an adult driver, represents an opportunity to develop skills that could confer a safety benefit during their years of independent driving. This paper describes the design of a teenage driving study, which aims to evaluate the impact of a smartphone application, the ‘DrivingApp,’ to increase the quantity and improve the quality of supervised practice driving.MethodsThis longitudinal intervention study of teenage drivers and a parent/guardian spans the final 6 months of the learner licence and the first year of independent driving. Participants will be assigned to experimental or control groups using block allocation. Parent–teenage dyads assigned to the intervention arm will receive information about their practice driving via a smartphone application, including miles driven and total drive time. Baseline and monthly surveys will be administered to both experimental and control participants to measure the outcome measures during the learner stage: (1) practice driving amount, (2) consistency and (3) variety. Outcomes during independent driving are (1) self-reported number of attempts at the driving test and (2) number of crashes during the first year of independent driving.DiscussionImproving the quality of teenagers’ supervised practice driving is an unmet research need. This study will contribute to the evidence about what can be done during the learner period of GDL to maximise teenage drivers’ safety during the first years of independent driving, when crash risk is highest.

Cognitive Biases, Attitudes, and Beliefs of Teenagers and Parents Toward Practice Driving, Vehicle Choice, and Safety Technology

“…Whereas overall GDL policies have reduced the crash risk of novice drivers and are highly supported by parents of young drivers (5,6), the quality and diversity of supervised practice driving hours is an area in need of further investigation. Encouragingly, recent research efforts have focused on improving the quality and quantity of practice driving using a smartphone application to monitor driving behavior (20,51). In-vehicle data acquisition systems are useful for understanding the particulars of supervised practice driving (52,53), but the scalability and accessibility of smartphones (51), with built-in GPS and accelerometer data collection, would allow for tracking of driving duration, distance, route, and conditions to understand the variety present in each teenager's practice driving routes.…”

“…It may be that the state-required number of supervised practice driving hours are enough to pass the state’s driver skill test, but not to confer a safety benefit resulting from driving skill mastery ( 19 ). Researchers have proposed that it is the quality of the practice driving hours (such as driving in diverse environments), and not the quantity, that confers the greatest safety benefit ( 16 , 20 ). Driving safety researchers have also expressed concern that passing the state driver test may confer an exaggerated confidence in the new driver’s capabilities on the road ( 19 ), encouraging some to drive in circumstances that challenge their skill and experience.…”