Technology-Based Interventions, Assessments, and Solutions for Safe Driving Training for Adolescents: Rapid Review

Safe driving training for adolescents aims to prevent injury and promote their well-being. In that regard, information and communication technologies have been used to understand adolescent driving behavior and develop interventions.

The purpose of this review is to explore and discuss existing approaches to technology-based driving interventions, driving assessments, and solutions in the literature.

We searched the Web of Science and PubMed databases following a review protocol to collect relevant peer-reviewed journal articles. Inclusion criteria were (1) being published in the English language, (2) being published in a peer-reviewed journal, (3) testing the driving behavior of teens with technology-based intervention methods, and (4) being published between January 2000 and March 2018. We appraised the articles by reading their abstracts to select studies matching the inclusion criteria and reading the full text of articles for final refinement.

Initial keyword searches on technology-based solutions resulted in 828 publications that we refined further by title screening (n=131) and abstract evaluation against inclusion criteria (n=29). Finally, we selected 16 articles that met the inclusion criteria and examined them regarding the use of technology-based interventions, assessments, and solutions. Use of built-in tracking devices and installation of black box devices were widely used methods for capturing driving events. Smartphones were increasingly adapted for data collection, and use of gamification for intervention design was an emerging concept. Visual and audio feedback also were used for intervention.

Our findings suggest that social influence is effective in technology-based interventions; parental involvement for promoting safe driving behavior is highly effective. However, the use of smartphones and gamification needs more study regarding their implementation and sustainability. Further developments in technology for predicting teen behavior and programs for behavioral change are needed.