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Weekly point goals and a leaderboard got drivers to hold their phones less

Who it’s about: Adults

A man in a striped jumper and scarf steers a wooden go-kart, a small trophy on its nose and a phone face down beside him.
  1. Helped

    With weekly point goals and a leaderboard, drivers held their phones a fifth less than with risk lessons alone.

    Large randomised trial of 1,653 US drivers who often held phones while driving · vs drivers who only got lessons on the risks · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ numbers unreliable

  2. No difference

    A phone mount, or a promise with if-then plans and texted tips, cut phone use no more than risk lessons.

    Large randomised trial of 1,653 US drivers who often held phones while driving · vs drivers who only got lessons on the risks · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ numbers unreliable

  3. No difference

    Adding small cash prizes to the point goals and leaderboard cut phone use no more than the game alone.

    Large randomised trial of 1,653 US drivers who often held phones while driving · vs the same game without cash prizes · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ numbers unreliable

The study

Who took part

1,653 US drivers aged 18 to 77, about 33 on average, from a car insurer's driving-app programme. All of them often held their phones while driving.

What they did

For 10 weeks, every group got lessons on the risks of holding a phone while driving. Each group then added one more thing to the last. These were a free phone mount, then a written promise with if-then plans and texted tips. Next came weekly point goals with a ranking against up to 9 similar drivers. The last group also got small cash prizes.

What happened

Point goals and a ranking cut the time drivers held their phones by about a minute per hour of driving. That was about a fifth less than risk lessons alone. With prizes it was about 1.5 minutes, or a quarter less. The mount and the promise with tips made no clear difference. Total phone use, hands-free included, did not change. The drop lasted 25 to 65 days after the 10 weeks. The paper's counts of people don't match, and some authors worked for the insurer.

Source

A randomized trial of behavioral interventions yielding sustained reductions in distracted driving. (2024)

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320603121

Tools in this study