New research from AAA reveals that smartphone applications designed to monitor driving habits can effectively reduce risky behaviors and potentially lower auto insurance premiums.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety conducted a 24-week national study involving over 1,400 participants to assess the impact of “usage-based insurance” (UBI) programs. These programs utilize smartphone apps to track driving behaviors such as speeding, hard braking, and rapid acceleration, providing feedback and incentives for safer driving.
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“More than 40,000 people die in crashes each year, often because of risky driving behaviors,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Technology that encourages drivers to avoid these behaviors could be the key to reducing injuries and fatalities on our roads.”
Significant Reductions:
- Up to a 13% reduction in speeding.
- Up to a 21% reduction in hard braking.
- Up to a 25% reduction in rapid acceleration.
Effective Incentives:
- 67.4% of participants reported that the potential to earn extra money was helpful in changing their driving behavior.
- 53.9% found weekly driving feedback via text message helpful.
- 45.8% appreciated the detailed driving information provided in weekly dashboards.
Sustained Improvements: Even after the 12-week intervention period, when feedback and incentives were removed, participants continued to drive more safely.
Demographic Impact: The programs were effective across various demographics, including age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Urban and suburban drivers showed slightly greater improvement than rural drivers, potentially due to sample size differences.
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The study demonstrated that UBI programs, which provide active feedback and incentives, can lead to substantial improvements in driver safety. AAA offers its own UBI program, AAADrive™, in Florida, allowing drivers to personalize their insurance rates based on their actual driving habits.
“The usage of AAADrive™ could help to improve the safety of our roads, while enabling drivers to personalize their auto insurance rates based on their actual driving,” Jenkins said. “Safer drivers with a better score can save more on their premiums.”
This research suggests that wider adoption of smartphone-based UBI programs could significantly contribute to road safety by reducing risky driving behaviors.
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