When technology tells novice drivers how to drive

The usefulness of feedback from technology to moderate risky behavior of young novice drivers was studied in a before-and-after experiment. Thirty-two vehicles were fitted with a device designed to identify occurrences of unsafe driving events (e.g., sharp turns, excessive braking and accelerating, swift lane changing) by young novice drivers. The event frequency (EF) in more than 18,000 trips was analyzed with mixed effect regression models with Poisson errors and several graphical methods. Results indicated a reduction in EF of more than 50% when feedback was available. These results suggested that feedback from technology could reduce risky behavior by young novice drivers.