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Citation
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Delgado MK, Ebert JP, Xiong RA, Winston FK, McDonald CC, Rosin RM, Volpp KG, Barnett IJ, Small DS, Wiebe DJ, Abdel-Rahman D, Hemmons JE, Finegold R, Kotrc B, Radford E, Fisher WJ, Gaba KL, Everett WC, Halpern SD. JAMA Netw. Open 2024; 7(7): e2420218. |
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Abstract
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IMPORTANCE: Handheld phone use while driving is a major factor in vehicle crashes. Scalable interventions are needed to encourage drivers not to use their phones.
OBJECTIVE: To test whether interventions involving social comparison feedback and/or financial incentives can reduce drivers' handheld phone use. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In a randomized clinical trial, interventions were administered nationwide in the US via a mobile application in the context of a usage-based insurance program (Snapshot Mobile application). Customers were eligible to be invited to participate in the study if enrolled in the usage-based insurance program for 30 to 70 days. The study was conducted from May 13 to June 30, 2019. Analysis was completed December 22, 2023. INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 trial arms for a 7-week intervention period: (1) control; (2) feedback, with weekly push notification about their handheld phone use compared with that of similar others; (3) standard incentive, with a maximum $50 award at the end of the intervention based on how their handheld phone use compared with similar others; (4) standard incentive plus feedback, combining interventions of arms 2 and 3; (5) reframed incentive plus feedback, with a maximum $7.15 award each week, framed as participant's to lose; and (6) doubled reframed incentive plus feedback, a maximum $14.29 weekly loss-framed award. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURE: Proportion of drive time engaged in handheld phone use in seconds per hour (s/h) of driving. Analyses were conducted with the intention-to-treat approach.
RESULTS: Of 17 663 customers invited by email to participate, 2109 opted in and were randomized. A total of 2020 drivers finished the intervention period (68.0% female; median age, 30 [IQR, 25-39] years). Median baseline handheld phone use was 216 (IQR, 72-480) s/h. Relative to control, feedback and standard incentive participants did not reduce their handheld phone use. Standard incentive plus feedback participants reduced their use by -38 (95% CI, -69 to -8) s/h (P = .045); reframed incentive plus feedback participants reduced their use by -56 (95% CI, -87 to -26) s/h (P < .001); and doubled reframed incentive plus feedback participants reduced their use by -42 s/h (95% CI, -72 to -13 s/h; P = .007). The 5 active treatment arms did not differ significantly from each other.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this randomized clinical trial, providing social comparison feedback plus incentives reduced handheld phone use while individuals were driving. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03833219.
Language: en |