November 6, 2018—TrueMotion, a smartphone telematics platform, on Tuesday announced it will work with Progressive Insurance and Penn Medicine to investigate strategies to reduce distracted driving.
Together they will focus on the effects of distracted driving interventions. The interventions will be delivered to users' smartphones, "nudging" them to reduce distraction. The study is part of a $1.84 million grant provided by the Federal Highway Administration to Penn Medicine.
Researchers will invite Progressive Snapshot customers to the study on their smartphone app. Participants will be randomly selected for distracted driving interventions. The interventions are based on proven behavioral economic strategies. They include:
- Silencing notifications while driving
- Providing demographic benchmarks for distraction behaviors
- Offering financial incentives for putting down the phone
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates that distracted driving kills 3,450 people every year, although the true count is likely much higher. On a daily basis, Americans drive 3.3 miles distracted and text 6.5 minutes while driving. And, 3.9 percent of drivers in the U.S., or 8.6 million, are distracted 50 percent of their time behind the wheel.
