The effectiveness of “Soft-blocking” for reducing clicking on-screen while driving

Smartphone usage while driving is recognized as a compromise on road safety. We investigated if silencing and hiding of notifications from drivers (soft blocking) can reduce clicks on the screen while driving and if the effect of the soft blocking would be different for different speed thresholds (STs) (i.e., at driving speed greater than 0 km/h, greater than 1 km/h….and greater than 90 km/h). Drivers installed a smartphone application, which continuously monitored their phones. In the intervention group (N = 22), the application switched to the soft blocking mode during the study's intervention period, while in the control group (N = 29) it remained in a recording-only mode. We ran a Poisson regression model on the click events frequency (CEF) to estimate the soft blocking effect for each of the STs between 0 and 90 km/h. Our analyses indicated that the soft blocking effectiveness was indeed speed-dependent and pointed to a decline in CEF from ST > 55 km/h and to mixed results if ST < 55 km/h. We identify a potential of soft blocking to reduce phone usage while driving and recommend ST-dependent soft blocking. We also recommend using different STs in future investigations on the effectiveness of soft blocking.     

“They would call me,and I would need to know because it is like life and death”: A qualitative examination of the acceptability of smartphone applications designed to reduce mobile phone use while driving

Distracted driving is one of the most prevalent risky behaviours worldwide. Research has highlighted that current approaches to distracted driving based on education and police enforcement have shown low effectiveness. Smartphone applications to reduce distracted driving are an emerging technology with the potential to prevent road crashes. However, recent evidence has shown that the adoption of these applications has been limited. A qualitative study was carried out to investigate the acceptability of smartphone applications that are designed to prevent distracted driving. A total of 35 drivers (57% females) aged 19–44 years (Mean = 28.43) participated in interviews which explored acceptability constructs for in-vehicle intelligent technology as defined by Regan et al. (2012): usefulness, usability, effectiveness, social acceptability, affordability, and willingness to use the application functions. Generally, drivers perceived that these applications have the potential to increase safety and reduce voluntary and involuntary mobile phone interactions while driving. Nonetheless, it was also found that drivers want to retain some of the functionalities of their mobile phone, such as music playing applications, accessing GPS/maps and being able to interact with certain groups of people through their phones while driving. Finally, barriers to the uptake of the applications among drivers who use their mobile phone while driving are discussed. A frequent barrier that needs to be overcome is the perceived need and pressure to respond to their phone while driving to communicate for work purposes or with people with strong social ties to the driver, for example, a parent or spouse.