Study Finds Smartphone Apps May Help Reduce Distracted Driving

Drivers who received financial incentives were less likely to use their phones while operating a motor vehicle, which could prevent thousands of auto accidents annually.

Thousands of people die in auto accidents every year, and there is a growing body of research establishing that one of the main contributors is distracted driving, including texting and checking a smartphone while driving. However, new research suggests that a targeted smartphone app may actually help address the growing rates of distracted driving on U.S. roadways.

In a report published this month in the journal JAMA Network Open, researchers indicate that increased use of targeted apps that provide interventions and incentives for drivers could help reduce the amount of time individuals spend using their phones while operating a motor vehicle.

In 2021, more than 800,000 motor vehicle accidents were caused by distracted driving, leading to 3,522 deaths. Distracted driving is one of the three main causes of car accidents, along with drunk driving and not wearing a seatbelt.

In April, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched the “Put the Phone Away or Pay” campaign to warn drivers of the consequences of distracted driving. The campaign includes a series of TV, social media, and radio ads to remind drivers that distracted driving can lead to deaths and may cost them heavy fines.

Distracted driving endangers not just the driver but also cyclists, pedestrians, and others outside vehicles, NHTSA officials noted. Despite a general decrease in traffic fatalities, the agency warns of a rise in deaths among vulnerable road users, with distracted driving playing a significant role in this upward trend.

Smartphone Apps Reduce Distracted Driving

In the new study published on July 10, Dr. M. Kit Delgado and a team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a randomized trial involving more than 2,000 insurance customers to test if app-based interventions or incentives could help reduce cell phone use while driving.

At the beginning of the trial, participants were recorded using their cell phones for an average of 216 seconds per hour while driving. This initial measurement set a baseline for the study, indicating a significant level of mobile phone engagement by drivers during vehicle operation.

Researchers subsequently divided participants into a control group, which received no intervention, and five other groups that each used different cell phone apps as part of the intervention strategy, including;

• Weekly push notifications about their cellphone use compared to similar drivers
• Incentive of $50 at the end of the seven-week study if they were among drivers with the lowest cellphone use
• Push notification feedback plus $50 reward for the entire study period if they were among drivers with the lowest cellphone use
• Push notifications plus $7.15 per week incentive if they were among the drivers with the lowest use
• Push notification feedback plus $14.89 per week reward incentive if they were among the lowest cellphone use

According to the findings, the various interventions helped reduce cell phone use by 15% to 21%, depending on the combination of follow-up feedback and the financial incentive.

Data indicated using push notification feedback or the standard incentive of $50 over the course of the seven-week study did not reduce cell phone use while driving. However, using the feedback push notifications plus the $50 incentive helped to reduce use by 38 seconds per hour.

Using the increased incentive of $7.15 per week plus the push notifications for feedback reduced cell phone use by 56 seconds per hour.Surprisingly, using push notifications and the double incentive of $14.89 per week did not reduce cell phone use more than the $7.15 per week incentive, but it did reduce use by 42 seconds per hour.

Researchers said they used a reframing type of incentive for the weekly paid groups. Instead of participants anticipating a reward at the end of the entire study period, they worked to avoid losing the reward each week. However, once the incentives and interventions were stopped, the reduced cellphone use stopped significantly.

The group of drivers with the least improvement in cellphone use no matter the intervention were among the drivers ranked the worst for cellphone use. Those drivers may need higher incentives to help reduce cellphone use, researchers determined.

The study authors also said the financial incentive provided to participants was lower than reductions in insurance rates that companies offer to drivers with better safety records, meaning this may be a future model for encouraging safe driving that works.

“The findings of this study suggest that auto insurers could incorporate these interventions into behavior-based insurance plans and potentially reduce distracted driving at scale and therefore crash risk in the population,” Delgado’s team indicated.

They concluded that reducing distracted driving from cell phones by 20%, as seen in the study, can help save hundreds of lives every year. They recommended the use of new methods, like apps with push notifications and incentives, plus other large campaigns like the NHTSA program, to reduce distracted driving.