Whilst we are busy telling drivers that mobile phone
use is a minority, deviant, behaviour they may, of
course, be having experiences that tell them the
opposite. While observation data suggests that mobile
phone use by drivers is relatively low at any one given
time¹, drivers nonetheless report a high frequency of
mobile phone use by their fellow road-users². This may
be because seeing someone using their phone is more
‘cognitively salient’ than seeing someone that isn’t.
or motivation. The more people we can see pledging
the more that behaviour will be seen as the ‘norm’. On
a basic level, this may also be seen in the number of
shares or likes that a social media post gets, or how
many people have completed a pledge.
Phone-using drivers may also draw attention to
themselves by slowing other drivers down (research
has found those using a mobile phone brake
inappropriately³), by driving erratically, or by missing
green traffic lights or opportunities to leave a junction or
roundabout. Drivers also just find phone use annoying
(as RAC reports have consistently shown 4 ) and this may
be making it seem more common than it may actually
be. For this reason, our attempts to show that most
people are not actually on their phones when they drive
should probably be accompanied by assurances that
we are acting to target the ones that are!
Pledges and social norms
We discuss pledges ‘elsewhere’ (see page 102),
but these can have a social element that relates to
the points we are making here. Many innovations
encourage individuals to make commitments or
contracts in the form of a pledge, for example, ‘I
pledge to never use a mobile phone while driving’, or
they can be a pledge to others, for example, ‘I pledge to
never call X when I know they are driving’.
Pledges are more likely to be kept when they are
socially embedded 5 , for example declared to a room
full of people or shared through social media. That
social audience acts as an additional source of pressure
¹ DfT (2015). Seat belt and mobile phone use surveys: England and Scotland, 2015. Statistical release. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/
government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/406723/seatbelt-and-mobile-use-surveys-2014.pdf
² RAC (2018). RAC Report on Motoring 2018. Available from: https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/report-on-motoring/rac10483_rom-2018_content_web
³ Haque, M.M. and Washington, S., (2015). ‘The impact of mobile phone distraction on the braking behaviour of young drivers: a hazard-based duration
model. Transportation research part C: emerging technologies, 50, pp.13-27.
4
RAC (2018). RAC Report on Motoring 2018. Available from: https://www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/report-on-motoring/rac10483_rom-2018_content_web
5
Elaheebocus, S.M.R.A., Weal, M., Morrison, L. and Yardley, L., (2018). Peer-based social media features in behavior change interventions: systematic review.
Journal of medical Internet research, 20(2).
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