In-vehicle monitoring & feedback for novice drivers and families
In-vehicle monitoring and feedback devices alert drivers with lights or sounds when they have high g-force events such as rapid acceleration, braking, or turning. Such devices can also capture other safety-related information such as speeding, seat belt use, or cell phone use. Families of novice, teenage drivers can review driving performance through reports, individualized summaries and tips, or video recordings (Simons-Morton 2012, Farah H, Musicant O, Shimshoni Y, et al. The first year of driving: Can an in-vehicle data recorder and parental involvement make it safer? Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2013;2327:26–33.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Farah 2013). Seat belt use reduces injury (IIHS-Safety belts); speeding has been shown to increase the likelihood and severity of crashes (IIHS-Speed).
Expected Beneficial Outcomes (Rated)
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Increased driving safety
Other Potential Beneficial Outcomes
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Reduced crashes
Evidence of Effectiveness
There is some evidence that immediate in-vehicle driving feedback for novice teenage drivers paired with delayed feedback for their families reduces speeding and high g-force events such as sudden acceleration, braking, and turning (Simons-Morton 2012, Farah H, Musicant O, Shimshoni Y, et al. The first year of driving: Can an in-vehicle data recorder and parental involvement make it safer? Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2013;2327:26–33.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Farah 2013). However, additional evidence is needed to confirm effects on driving behavior and determine effects on crash rates.
Speeding alerts that allow drivers who quickly correct their behavior to avoid parental notification can reduce speeding. In some circumstances, devices that buzz until drivers fasten their seat belt or report unbelted driving to a website available to family members can improve seat belt compliance (Farmer CM, Kirley BB, McCartt AT. Effects of in-vehicle monitoring on the driving behavior of teenagers. Journal of Safety Research. 2010;41(1):39–45.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Farmer 2010b).
Immediate feedback paired with videos of high g-force events and driving report cards sent to families appear to reduce the frequency of g-force events (Simons-Morton 2012, McGehee DV, Raby M, Carney C, Lee JD, Reyes ML. Extending parental mentoring using an event-triggered video intervention in rural teen drivers. Journal of Safety Research. 2007;38(2):215–27.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)McGehee 2007, Carney C, McGehee D V, Lee JD, Reyes ML, Raby M. Using an event-triggered video intervention system to expand the supervised learning of newly licensed adolescent drivers. American Journal of Public Health. 2010;100(6):1101–6.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Carney 2010), while immediate feedback for drivers without reports for families may not (Simons-Morton 2012). Such paired interventions may teach drivers to scan for and react to hazards, which may reduce abrupt braking even after in-vehicle feedback ends (Carney C, McGehee D V, Lee JD, Reyes ML, Raby M. Using an event-triggered video intervention system to expand the supervised learning of newly licensed adolescent drivers. American Journal of Public Health. 2010;100(6):1101–6.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Carney 2010, McGehee DV, Raby M, Carney C, Lee JD, Reyes ML. Extending parental mentoring using an event-triggered video intervention in rural teen drivers. Journal of Safety Research. 2007;38(2):215–27.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)McGehee 2007).
Additional counseling to help parents restrict or allow driving based on driving performance may reduce g-force events more than driving reports alone (Farah H, Musicant O, Shimshoni Y, et al. The first year of driving: Can an in-vehicle data recorder and parental involvement make it safer? Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2013;2327:26–33.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Farah 2013). Effects can also be stronger for drivers with high rates of g-force events before using such devices (Carney C, McGehee D V, Lee JD, Reyes ML, Raby M. Using an event-triggered video intervention system to expand the supervised learning of newly licensed adolescent drivers. American Journal of Public Health. 2010;100(6):1101–6.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Carney 2010, Musicant O, Lampel L. When technology tells novice drivers how to drive. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2010;2182:8–15.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Musicant 2010, McGehee DV, Raby M, Carney C, Lee JD, Reyes ML. Extending parental mentoring using an event-triggered video intervention in rural teen drivers. Journal of Safety Research. 2007;38(2):215–27.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)McGehee 2007). High-risk drivers, however, may only reduce rapid turning and acceleration during the parental monitoring period (Carney C, McGehee D V, Lee JD, Reyes ML, Raby M. Using an event-triggered video intervention system to expand the supervised learning of newly licensed adolescent drivers. American Journal of Public Health. 2010;100(6):1101–6.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Carney 2010).
Impact on Disparities
No impact on disparities likely
Implementation Examples
In-vehicle monitoring and feedback technology is available through private vendors, car insurance companies, and smart phone applications, and is built into some cars (Kowalski 2013, MN DOT-Donath 2011, Russo 2013).
Implementation Resources
IIHS-Parents - Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), When parents are watching. Status Report (Arlington). 2009;44(5).
DriveCam - DriveCam. Delivering insights. Driving results.
Citations - Evidence
* Journal subscription may be required for access.
Simons-Morton 2012 - Simons-Morton BG, Bingham CR, Ouimet MC, et al. The effect on teenage risky driving of feedback from a safety monitoring system: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2013;53(1):21–6.
Farah 2013* - Farah H, Musicant O, Shimshoni Y, et al. The first year of driving: Can an in-vehicle data recorder and parental involvement make it safer? Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2013;2327:26–33.
Carney 2010* - Carney C, McGehee D V, Lee JD, Reyes ML, Raby M. Using an event-triggered video intervention system to expand the supervised learning of newly licensed adolescent drivers. American Journal of Public Health. 2010;100(6):1101–6.
Musicant 2010* - Musicant O, Lampel L. When technology tells novice drivers how to drive. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2010;2182:8–15.
McGehee 2007* - McGehee DV, Raby M, Carney C, Lee JD, Reyes ML. Extending parental mentoring using an event-triggered video intervention in rural teen drivers. Journal of Safety Research. 2007;38(2):215–27.
Farmer 2010b* - Farmer CM, Kirley BB, McCartt AT. Effects of in-vehicle monitoring on the driving behavior of teenagers. Journal of Safety Research. 2010;41(1):39–45.
Citations - Implementation Examples
* Journal subscription may be required for access.
Russo 2013 - Russo F. Hit the brakes! GPS Mom is watching. Time. 2013.
Kowalski 2013 - Kowalski M, O’Donnell J. Apps, etc. remotely monitor teen drivers. USA Today. 2013.
MN DOT-Donath 2011 - Donath M, Creaser J, Gorjestani A, Manser M. Usability evaluation of a smart phone-based novice teen driver support system (TDSS). Minneapolis: Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute, University of Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Transportation (MN DOT); 2011.
Date Last Updated
- Scientifically Supported: Strategies with this rating are most likely to make a difference. These strategies have been tested in many robust studies with consistently positive results.
- Some Evidence: Strategies with this rating are likely to work, but further research is needed to confirm effects. These strategies have been tested more than once and results trend positive overall.
- Expert Opinion: Strategies with this rating are recommended by credible, impartial experts but have limited research documenting effects; further research, often with stronger designs, is needed to confirm effects.
- Insufficient Evidence: Strategies with this rating have limited research documenting effects. These strategies need further research, often with stronger designs, to confirm effects.
- Mixed Evidence: Strategies with this rating have been tested more than once and results are inconsistent or trend negative; further research is needed to confirm effects.
- Evidence of Ineffectiveness: Strategies with this rating are not good investments. These strategies have been tested in many robust studies with consistently negative and sometimes harmful results.