Towards Mitigating Teenagers’ Distracted Driving Behaviors

Merrikhpour, Maryam; Donmez, Birsen · 2016 · Crossref

DOI: 10.1177/1541931213601428

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Summary

This study investigates the effectiveness of a social norms-based feedback system in mitigating distracted driving behaviors among teenagers. Teen drivers face an elevated crash risk, with distraction contributing to 20% of crashes involving 15–18 year olds. While previous research indicates that real-time and post-drive feedback can reduce off-road glances, this study explores whether incorporating parental descriptive norms—teens’ perceptions of their parents’ distraction habits—can further enhance these effects. The authors hypothesize that correcting misperceptions about normative behavior can constrain risky actions, a strategy proven effective in other domains like alcohol use and energy consumption. The researchers conducted a driving simulator experiment using a mixed factorial design with 40 teen-parent dyads (teens aged 17–19 with Ontario G2/G licenses). Participants were assigned to one of four between-subjects conditions: social norms feedback, post-drive feedback without norms, real-time auditory feedback, or no feedback. Each participant completed five drives on a two-lane rural road, engaging in a self-paced visual-manual secondary task. Distraction was measured via glance rates, duration, and manual interactions, while driving performance was assessed through lane position deviation, brake response time, and deceleration metrics. Statistical analyses employed mixed linear and Poisson models. Results indicated that both social norms and real-time feedback significantly reduced distraction engagement and improved driving performance compared to the no-feedback and post-drive-only conditions. Specifically, social norms feedback led to a lower rate of long glances (>2 seconds) and shorter average glance durations. It also decreased the number of manual interactions with the secondary task, suggesting a reduction in overall engagement. Real-time feedback primarily limited glance durations but did not reduce manual interactions as effectively. Regarding driving performance, social norms feedback produced stronger improvements, particularly in brake response times during lead vehicle braking events. Post-drive feedback without social norms showed no significant effects on either distraction or performance. The study concludes that feedback systems incorporating social norms are promising tools for mitigating teen distracted driving, potentially by providing a corrective reference point for behavior. The authors note that the lack of benefit from standard post-drive feedback may stem from its specific characteristics rather than the timing of the intervention. Limitations include the use of artificial normative data and a sample restricted to willing participants. These findings suggest that leveraging social norms, particularly parental descriptive norms, can be more effective than traditional feedback methods in promoting safer driving habits among inexperienced drivers.

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Topics

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• visual
• temporal
• in vehicle coaching
• feedback modes
• external distraction
• visual manual

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: behavioral performance data, observational prevalence