Developing a Smartphone App to Enhance Older Driver Safety

Background:
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). NHTSA’s mission is to save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce traffic-related health care and other economic costs. The agency develops, promotes, and implements educational, engineering, and enforcement programs aimed at preventing tragedies and reducing economic costs associated with vehicle use and highway travel. NHTSA has been directed by Congress to explore the efficacy of smartphone applications (apps) as an intervention for older drivers. Congressional staff expressed a particular interest in Road Coach, a smart phone app originally developed to reduce risky driving in teens. This interest was based on findings from the Older Driver Support System Field Operational Test[1], which tested the effects of the app on a sample of 28 participants with an average age of 69.5 years. Libby and colleagues reported that RoadCoach use resulted in reduced hard braking events and stop sign violations. Participants ’attitudes toward RoadCoach were generally positive, but some noted that the app's settings for detecting hard braking and stop sign violations were too sensitive.

In a recent study,[2] Peterson and colleagues found that apps can reduce some risky driving behaviors, but that most of the apps were better suited to addressing behaviors common among young and middle-aged drivers’ crashes. The study produced a list of feasible app features that map to driving tasks that can be risky for older drivers. An app with features which could support older drivers by alerting them to upcoming elements of the driving environment (e.g., changes in speed limit, sharp curves, intersection details) or by providing routes that avoid complex driving tasks such as unprotected left turns, could reduce risk for these drivers.

Objective(s):

For this project, the Contractor shall design, develop, and pilot test an app that supports older drivers by reducing their cognitive workload. This app will assist older drivers in avoiding risky traffic situations—such as unprotected left turns—and alert them to upcoming changes in the driving environment, like speed limit changes or sharp curves. After developing the app, the Contractor shall design a field operational test (FOT) to document its effects on older adults’ driving habits and performance. The Contractor shall also provide a draft information collection request (ICR) with supporting documents, Federal Register Notices, and Privacy Threshold Assessment documents for the subsequent study design. Final deliverables shall include the final version of the app and a final report that describes the app’s purpose, development process, the naturalistic driving study design, along with supporting documents.
The FOT would be carried out under a separate contract.

• TBD