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NCT Number: NCT06413927

Driver Education Research Study

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

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Key information

Conditions

Risk Reduction Behavior Accident, Traffic Behavior Development, Adolescent Injuries Wounds and Injuries

Age range

16 year–17 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

About this study

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Adolescents ages 16-17 years old who reside in Pennsylvania
  • Have an active Pennsylvania learner's permit
  • Have <30 hours of driving practice during permit phase
  • Have never taken an on-road licensing exam, in any state
  • Plan to get a license within the next 12 months in Pennsylvania
  • Plan to have access to a vehicle to drive after licensure
  • Have a personal cell phone and access to a smartphone/tablet/computer with internet access
  • Download and use the RoadReady app (only required for participants randomized to the behind-the-wheel training arm; optional for participants randomized to the online vehicle and driver safety and online driver skills training arms)
  • Are able to read/write in English
  • Provide informed consent/assent
  • Are not also taking part in another learner driver study

Exclusion criteria

  • Non-Pennsylvania resident
  • Participants who do not pass the license exam will not be able to complete the post-license monitoring until the license is obtained
  • Enrolled in another learner driver study

Treatment and study plan

Online Vehicle and Driver Safety Education

Behavioral

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.

Online Driver Skills Training

Behavioral

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.

Behind-the-Wheel Driver Training

Behavioral

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).

Primary outcomes

  1. Hard Braking Events

    Time frame: Measured over the 6 months post-licensure at the end of the study (about month 18-24), assessed at 2 and 6 months post-licensure, with primary outcome at 2 months post-licensure.

    For Aim 1 and 3, the primary outcome is the number of hard braking events per 100 miles driven during the first 2 months post-licensure, as measured via the Way-to-Drive App.

  2. Pass rate on the licensure exam

    Time frame: Measured at the time of the license examination, post-intervention (in about month 8-18).

    The primary outcome in Aim 2 and 3 will be the pass rate on the first licensure exam attempt.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Phone Use While Driving

    Time frame: Measured over the 6 months post-licensure at the end of the study (about month 18-24), assessed at 2 and 6 months post-licensure.

    For Aim 1 and 3: minutes of handheld phone use per hour of driving, as measured via the Way-to-Drive App.

  2. Speeding

    Time frame: Measured over the 6 months post-licensure at the end of the study (about month 18-24), assessed at 2 and 6 months post-licensure.

    For Aim 1 and 3: Proportion of drive time >10 miles over the posted speed limit, as measured via the Way-to-Drive App.

  3. Crash Involvement

    Time frame: Measured at 2-, 4- and 6-month follow-up post-licensure (about month 18-24).

    For Aim 1 and 3: Self-reported involvement in crashes as a driver (binary yes/no) as captured by a question in our follow-up driver experience questionnaire: response options are 1) none; 2) one; 3) two; 4) more than 2. This item has been used in previous studies as part of the modified Driver Behavior Questionnaire (mDBQ).

  4. Risky driving behavior

    Time frame: Measured at 2-, 4- and 6-month follow-up post-licensure (within about month 18-24).

    For Aim 1 and 3: Risky Driving factor score as captured through self-reported responses on the modified driver behavior questionnaire, in which participants rate how often they engage in 11 different risk-taking behaviors while driving on a 6-point scale from "Never" to "Nearly all the time."

  5. Virtual Driving Assessment performance

    Time frame: Measured at the time of the license examination, post-intervention (in about month 8-18).

    For Aim 2 and 3: the class of driving behavior assessed via performance on a virtual driving assessment.

  6. Change in Virtual Driving Assessment performance

    Time frame: Measured at the time of the license examination, post-intervention (in about month 8-18).

    For Aim 2 and 3: the change in virtual driving assessment performance class assessed via performance on a virtual driving assessment pre- and post-intervention.

  7. Number of license exam attempts

    Time frame: Measured at the time of the license examination, post-intervention (in about month 8-18).

    For Aim 2 and 3: the number of attempts taken to pass the licensure exam.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Jamillah T Millner, MPH

CONTACT

[email protected]

267-425-0375

Thomas Seacrist, MBE

CONTACT

[email protected]

267-425-1547

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Other

Collaborators

  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • University of Michigan
  • University of Pennsylvania

Registry information

Official study title

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

Acronym: DRIVER

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
May 14, 2024
Registry last updated
Apr 6, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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