The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says at least 12% of all vehicle crashes involve cell phones. We all know it’s a major problem — but how do you get people to stop doing it?
Recently, Penn Medicine researchers may found a hint and it may have to do with cold hard cash.
For the study, researchers partnered with Progressive Insurance to follow data from 2,000 participants who downloaded apps that monitored phone usage and driving performance. Researchers found that “drivers who were told (and updated weekly) that they could lose up to $7.15 a week were the ones who used their phones least” compared to the group that had no incentives to earn money or receive feedback.
Overall, researchers found that the most successful group lowered their phone usage from an average of 216 seconds per hour to around 56 seconds per hour.