NCT06413927

Driver Education Research Study

A Contemporary Look at Driver Training and Its Role in Reducing Crash Risk in Novice Adolescent Drivers

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1,300 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 16 Years – 17 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study will test the effectiveness of different types of driver training interventions for reducing young new driver crash risk early after licensure.

Detailed description

Motor vehicle crashes remain high in young drivers, despite graduated driver licensing laws that put restrictions on driving and delay licensure. Typically, data trends show that crash risk is highest right after licensure, in the early months of independent driving. Additional studies of different driver training interventions have shown some evidence that it is possible to improve skills and reduce crashes early in licensure for young drivers. However, Pennsylvania and many other states have no professional training requirements for young drivers. This study will test the effectiveness of different types of driver training programs for reducing young new driver crash risk early after licensure. Up to 1,200 adolescent learner drivers in Pennsylvania will be recruited for this trial (to get up to 1,000 evaluable participants). Participants will be recruited through Primary Care Clinics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and from the surrounding community to take part in a study that will continue through the learner phase and for 6 months after licensure. Participants will give informed consent and be asked to complete some baseline surveys and cognitive tasks, and a virtual driving assessment in-person during a clinical or other visit. All will receive care-as-usual. Participants will also be followed through the learner phase with a smartphone app that monitors driving trips and monthly surveys that can be completed at home. In the learner phase, participants will randomly receive one of three interventions. One group of participants will receive professional behind-the-wheel training with a local driving school instructor. Another group will receive a modern online driver training course. Another group will receive an online vehicle and driver safety education. Participants randomly assigned to the behind-the-wheel training group will be required to download and use an app to log and track their driving practice hours. Use of this app will be optional for participants randomly assigned to the other groups. After the learner phase, participants will be given an online hazard skills test, online surveys, and second virtual driving assessment, and state license examination and will be followed for 6 months after licensure, with online surveys at 2, 4, and 6 months after licensure, and with continued driver trip monitoring through the smartphone app.

Conditions

• Risk Reduction Behavior
• Injuries
• Accident, Traffic
• Development, Adolescent

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Online Vehicle and Driver Safety Education	This online video education program provides education in vehicle and driver safety (e.g. vehicle maintenance, adjusting car seats and seatbelts). This online training will take up to 2 hours to complete and will have a short quiz at the end to determine compliance with this online training.
BEHAVIORAL	Online Driver Skills Training	The online driver training is the Accelerated Curriculum to Create Effective Learning (ACCEL) is designed to enhance the ability to anticipate, recognize and respond to hazards and to maintain attention to the road. The training is delivered online via a computer and can be done from home or at a school or other site that has a computer with internet access. It requires up to two hours to complete, and will be hosted on a platform that will track progress and completion through the training (such as accuracy, duration in modules, time to complete) and a short quiz will be provided at the end to assess learning.
BEHAVIORAL	Behind-the-Wheel Driver Training	The professional behind-the-wheel training course will be conducted in-person, delivered by local driving school partner Coastline Academy or licensed driver training schools subcontracted by Coastline Academy. The curriculum consists of 6 hours of training with assigned practice between lessons, and meets Pennsylvania and national standards. Post-lesson forms completed by the instructors will record adherence and consistency (intervention fidelity).

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-08-08
• Primary completion: 2027-12-01
• Completion: 2027-12-01
• First posted: 2024-05-14
• Last updated: 2026-04-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States