Technology vs Technology
Competing against the range of technologies that actually generate distraction within vehicles , are another type of technologies that can be used to reduce distraction . We know it can be hard to generate normative compliance with laws and rules , and that instrumental compliance is costly and resource intensive to achieve ( see 59 ), so a physical means of prevention starts to look attractive . These include signal-blocking pouches that prevent a phone from receiving a signal ( just search for ‘ signal blocking pouch ’ on Amazon to see the range ), ‘ Faraday cages ’ ( such as that installed in some Nissans ), as well as downloadable mobile phone applications which prevent distracting alerts from being communicated to the driver ( plenty are available in places like App Store ). In addition to phone Apps , many mobile phone manufacturers now include ‘ driving ’ settings , which drivers can activate once to apply automatically , or activate each time they drive . Some applications restrict the ability for notifications to ‘ get through ’ to a driver , whereas others allow driver behaviour to be tracked / monitored by parents , loved ones or employers .
Different Apps offer different forms of restriction or blocking . The iPhone ‘ Do not disturb while driving ’ setting allows calls to be sent via a car ’ s Bluetooth , but can block texts and send an automatic response . This seems to indicate that their primary purpose is to encourage legal phone use , rather than safe phone use . This contrasts to technologies such as signal blocking pouches that simply restrict all activity until a mobile phone is taken out of the pouch .
These approaches have their pros and cons , but we do think that they deserve to be amongst the strategies that are promoted to drivers . As we ’ ve said elsewhere , an App that detects driving and activates itself automatically has the advantage of being a onetime action that can ‘ immunise ’ a driver for some time to come , whereas a pouch ( or planning to ‘ make the glove compartment the phone compartment ’) requires the driver to remember , and decide , to act every time they drive ( a source of “ friction ” to use the behavioural change terminology ). This increases the possibility that they may forget or choose not to perform such strategies in particular circumstances or on certain occasions .
iOS / Apple ‘ Do Not Disturb ’ setting A study in the US found that the ‘ Do not disturb while driving ’ function reduced smartphone use by drivers by 8 %. This doesn ’ t sound that impressive , but the US does seem to have a different culture of phone use to the UK , with 92 % of US drivers using their phone at the wheel 1 . Not much is known about the effects of the setting in the UK yet . A different study found that 54 % of young drivers favoured automatic phone locking while driving as a way of preventing them using their phones , 47 % favoured e-mail notifications to parents and 42 % favoured automated responses to incoming texts 2 .
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1
Owen , M ( 2018 ) Apple ’ s iPhone ‘ Do Not Disturb While Driving ’ feature helping to reduce dangerous habits . Apple Insider Available at https :// appleinsider . com / articles / 18 / 04 / 18 / iphone-do-not-disturb-while-driving-feature-helps-reduce-usage-at-the-wheel-study-shows
2
Delgado , M . K ., et al ( 2018 ). Attitudes on technological , social , and behavioral economic strategies to reduce cellphone use among teens while driving . Traffic injury prevention , pp . 1-8 .