Clinical trial NCT01624597: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve Teen Driving
Official title: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Improve Teen Driving
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Motor Vehicle Driving
Keywords: Road traffic safety
Lead sponsor: University of Iowa
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
First posted: 2012-06-20
Enrollment: 153
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 14
Maximum age (years): 17
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: This randomized controlled trial will evaluate an intervention that provides parents with objective feedback about their teen's driving as well as strategies to improve communication with their teen about driving. We will recruit 180 newly-licensed teen drivers and a parent or guardian. Our main hypotheses are that: parent-teen dyads who receive feedback will have reduced driving errors and increased safety behaviors than dyads with no feedback; and, parent-teen dyads who receive instruction on communication techniques will have improved quality and quantity of communication about driving than dyads not learning these techniques.

Detailed description: With a long-range goal of reducing crashes and related injuries among teen drivers, this project will assess the influence of a parent-focused intervention on teens' driving and safety behaviors. This randomized controlled trial will evaluate an intervention that integrates an in-vehicle video feedback system with parent-based communication techniques to improve teen driving. This will be the first rigorous evaluation of this technology, as well as the first to integrate a parent component. The in-vehicle video system records a video clip whenever an abrupt change in speed or steering direction is detected. These event-triggered video clips will be coded to identify safety-relevant events like driving errors and safety behaviors. A randomized group of parents will receive a weekly "driving report card" that summarizes driving errors, safety behaviors, and crashes or near-crashes recorded by the in-vehicle system. A second group of randomized parents will receive the report card plus training in communication strategies specifically designed to improve parent-teen communication about safe driving (based on Motivational Interviewing). Driving errors and safety behaviors will be compared to a control group that receives no feedback from the in-vehicle video system.

The specific aims of this proposed project are:

Specific Aim 1: Identify if giving parents feedback about their teen's driving performance and skills to better communicate with their teen driver increases the quality and quantity of parental involvement in teen driving.

Hypothesis: The intervention groups will report more frequent and higher-quality communication about safe driving than the control group.

Specific Aim 2: Identify if giving parents feedback about their teen's driving performance and skills to better communicate with their teen driver decreases the frequency of driving errors, unsafe driving behaviors, crashes, and near crashes.

Hypothesis: The intervention groups will have significantly reduced risky driving events (driving errors, crashes, and near crashes) and significantly increased safety behaviors (such as safety belt use and driving without distractions) than the control group.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Teen will receive Intermediate Driver's license in three months
* Teen has regular access to a car
* Can provide proof of insurance
* One legal guardian will also consent to participation

Exclusion Criteria:

* Either parent or teen is not an English speaker
* A sibling has already participated in the study

Primary outcomes:
measure: Driving errors by newly licensed teen drivers
timeFrame: 6 months after licensure
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Safety behaviors of newly licensed teen drivers
timeFrame: 6 months post-licensure
measure: Parent communication
timeFrame: 6 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Des Moines
country: United States
facility: Blank Children's Hospital
state: Iowa
city: Iowa City
country: United States
facility: University of Iowa
state: Iowa
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Iowa
name: Corinne Peek-Asa, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of Iowa
name: Daniel McGehee, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: