When there’s money to lose, phone usage while driving drops

To make someone put their phone down while driving, show them the money-with a catch, according to new research published in JAMA Open. When a group of auto insurance customers were tempted with a cash incentive-and regular feedback letting the driver know how they were doing compared to other drivers trying to reduce their phone time-handheld phone use dropped significantly, a team at the Perelman School of Medicine finds.

The researchers examined several different strategies informed by behavior science to curb distracted driving in a seven-week trial. One strategy paired weekly feedback on phone use with a cash incentive of up to $50 at the end of the study if the drivers used their phones less than others. That approach yielded a 15% decrease in handheld phone usage compared to drivers given no incentive or feedback. However, when drivers were told that they would receive the same amount of money paid out in weekly installments, but lose it if they engaged in handheld phone usage while driving, phone use decreased by 21%.

"In the United States, there are over 800,000 crashes per year due to distracted driving, with cell phone use while driving being a leading cause. This occurs despite numerous laws banning handheld phone use, suggesting additional scalable interventions are needed," says lead author M. Kit Delgado, faculty director of Penn Medicine's Nudge Unit and an associate professor of emergency medicine and epidemiology. "We were able to use the power of humans' natural aversion to loss and regret, as well as our desire to fit in to social norms, to achieve some significant results."

The practice of incentivizing drivers' behaviors is rising. Auto insurance companies are increasing "usage-based insurance"where customers agree to download smartphone apps to monitor driving performance and cell phone usage. The data is then used to adjust rates for individual drivers, with safer drivers being offered discounts on future insurance policies.

Read more at Penn Medicine News.