A Randomized Field Trial of Smartphone-based Feedback to Encourage Safe Driving

NCT ID: NCT06101251

Last Updated: 2025-07-02

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1449 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-01-25

Study Completion Date

2024-09-30

Brief Summary

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The study team are proposing to conduct a randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of focused feedback vs standard feedback and self-chosen vs assigned goals on driving behaviors targeted by behavior-based insurance apps: hard braking, fast acceleration, handheld phone use, and speeding. The interventions arms will receive feedback on their driving behaviors, tips for safe driving, and a UBI-like financial incentive. The Penn research team will use Meta advertisements to recruit for the study and determine eligibility via an online survey. Those who enroll will undergo a 6-week run-in period during which their driving trips will be monitored by a mobile app. Individuals with a sufficient number of trips during this period will be randomly assigned to one of four arms for the intervention period. Target enrollment is 1,300 participants (325 per trial arm). The power analysis assumed an attrition rate of 20% over the course of the study.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Distracted Driving Injury Prevention Behavioral Economics

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

At the end of the 6-week baseline period, participants who have the app installed and collecting data, and who meet a minimum number of driver trips with trips scores, will be randomized into one of 4 arms via Way to Health:

Arm 1, Control: Way to Drive app only monitors trips in the background

Arm 2, Standard feedback + UBI-like Financial Incentive: Receive weekly feedback on all four behaviors and overall driver safety; safety tips on all four behaviors; up to $100 based on their overall driver safety at end of intervention.

Arm 3, Assigned Goal + UBI-like Financial Incentive: Receive weekly feedback on behavior that presents greatest opportunity for improvement; safety tips on this behavior; up to $100 based on their overall driver safety at end of intervention.

Arm 4, Self-Chosen Goal + UBI-like Financial Incentive: Receive weekly feedback on behavior of their own choosing; safety tips on this behavior; up to $100 based on their overall driver safety at end of intervention.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Control

Participants will have the Way to Drive app monitoring in the background throughout the intervention period for overall driving score, handheld phone use, speeding, hard braking, and fast acceleration. They will not receive feedback, driving tips or UBI-like behavioral incentives.

Participants will also receive payment or non-adherence messages as needed for having the app functioning.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Standard Feedback + UBI-like Behavioral Incentive

Participants will have the Way to Drive app monitoring in the background, and will receive payment or non-adherence messages as needed, but will also receive, Standard Feedback, Study Dashboard, Driving Tips, and UBI-like Behavioral Incentive

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Driving Tips

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Each week participants will receive a safe driving tip for one of the four behaviors via text message.

Standard Feedback

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Each week participants will receive a text message showing their overall driving score (out of 100) and subscores for distraction, hard braking, fast acceleration, and speeding (all running averages). The scoreboard will indicate whether their scores have gone up, down, or stayed the same. The message will include a link to a dashboard.

Study Dashboard (Standard)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

By clicking the link in the feedback text, they will be able to view a weekly dashboard that provides detailed information about their baseline, best, last, and average scores for each of the four behaviors, plus descriptions of the four behaviors.

UBI-like Behavioral Incentive

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

At the end of the 12-week intervention period, their overall driving score will be translated into a $0-$100 reward amount. For example, a participant with an overall driving score of 84 at the end of the intervention period would receive $84 in compensation.

Assigned Goal with UBI-like Behavioral Incentive

Participants will have the Way to Drive app monitoring in the background, and will receive payment or non-adherence messages as needed, but will also receive Assigned Focus Area Feedback, Driving Tips, a Study Dashboard, and UBI-like Behavioral Incentive

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Driving Tips

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Each week participants will receive a safe driving tip for one of the four behaviors via text message.

Assigned Focus Area Feedback

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Each week feedback will focus the participant's attention on the driving behavior with the greatest opportunity for improvement based on their baseline driving behavior. Participants will be assigned a goal for the week of a score 5 points (3 points in the case of Driver Focus) better than their baseline for that area. If they meet the goal, they will be given a new goal 5 points higher; if they fall short, they will be asked to try for the same goal again. If they improve sufficiently-or if their improvement stalls out-they will be assigned a new behavior to focus on.

Study Dashboard (focused)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Same as standard study dashboard, except participants will see at the top of the dashboard how well they are doing relative to their weekly goals.

UBI-like Behavioral Incentive

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

At the end of the 12-week intervention period, their overall driving score will be translated into a $0-$100 reward amount. For example, a participant with an overall driving score of 84 at the end of the intervention period would receive $84 in compensation.

Self-Chosen Goal with UBI-like Behavioral Incentive

Participants will have the Way to Drive app monitoring in the background, and will receive payment or non-adherence messages as needed, but will also receive Self-Chosen Focus Area Feedback, Driving Tips, Study Dashboard, and UBI-like Behavioral Incentive.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Driving Tips

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Each week participants will receive a safe driving tip for one of the four behaviors via text message.

Study Dashboard (Standard)

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

By clicking the link in the feedback text, they will be able to view a weekly dashboard that provides detailed information about their baseline, best, last, and average scores for each of the four behaviors, plus descriptions of the four behaviors.

UBI-like Behavioral Incentive

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

At the end of the 12-week intervention period, their overall driving score will be translated into a $0-$100 reward amount. For example, a participant with an overall driving score of 84 at the end of the intervention period would receive $84 in compensation.

Sef-Chosen Focus Area Feedback

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants will be asked to select which driving behavior they want to focus on improving, and to set a goal for the week that is above their baseline score. If they meet the goal, they will be asked to set a new, higher goal; if they fall short, they will be asked to try for the same goal again. If they improve sufficiently-or if their improvement stalls out-they will be asked if they want to focus on a new behavior.

Interventions

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Driving Tips

Each week participants will receive a safe driving tip for one of the four behaviors via text message.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Standard Feedback

Each week participants will receive a text message showing their overall driving score (out of 100) and subscores for distraction, hard braking, fast acceleration, and speeding (all running averages). The scoreboard will indicate whether their scores have gone up, down, or stayed the same. The message will include a link to a dashboard.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Assigned Focus Area Feedback

Each week feedback will focus the participant's attention on the driving behavior with the greatest opportunity for improvement based on their baseline driving behavior. Participants will be assigned a goal for the week of a score 5 points (3 points in the case of Driver Focus) better than their baseline for that area. If they meet the goal, they will be given a new goal 5 points higher; if they fall short, they will be asked to try for the same goal again. If they improve sufficiently-or if their improvement stalls out-they will be assigned a new behavior to focus on.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Study Dashboard (Standard)

By clicking the link in the feedback text, they will be able to view a weekly dashboard that provides detailed information about their baseline, best, last, and average scores for each of the four behaviors, plus descriptions of the four behaviors.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Study Dashboard (focused)

Same as standard study dashboard, except participants will see at the top of the dashboard how well they are doing relative to their weekly goals.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

UBI-like Behavioral Incentive

At the end of the 12-week intervention period, their overall driving score will be translated into a $0-$100 reward amount. For example, a participant with an overall driving score of 84 at the end of the intervention period would receive $84 in compensation.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Sef-Chosen Focus Area Feedback

Participants will be asked to select which driving behavior they want to focus on improving, and to set a goal for the week that is above their baseline score. If they meet the goal, they will be asked to set a new, higher goal; if they fall short, they will be asked to try for the same goal again. If they improve sufficiently-or if their improvement stalls out-they will be asked if they want to focus on a new behavior.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* 18 years of age or older
* Has an Apple or Android smartphone (iPhone iOS 12 or later or Android OS 7 or later)
* Drives at least 2 days per week
* English reading ability
* Passes an attention check
* Provides valid email address, cell number, name, address, and date of birth

Exclusion Criteria

\-
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Pennsylvania

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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M. Kit Delgado, MD

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

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University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

Other Identifiers

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853761

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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