Evaluating the Safety Implications and Benefits of an In-Vehicle Data Recorder to Young Drivers

Young drivers in Israel, as in other parts of the world, are involved in car crashes more than any other age group. Green Light for Life is a new program that seeks to improve the quality of the experience of young drivers during the mandatory accompanied driving period. As part of the efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of this program a novel experiment, which uses information gathered from an in-vehicle data recorder (IVDR) is conducted. The DriveDiagnostics IVDR system, which is used in this study, can identify over 20 different maneuver types in raw measurements and use this information to indicate overall trip safety. Drivers receive feedback through various summary reports, real-time text messages or an in-vehicle display unit. Preliminary validation tests with the system demonstrate promising potential. In the experiment, the DriveDiagnostics system is installed in the primary vehicle driven by the young driver in 120 families. The experiment is designed to test the impact on driving behavior of participation in the program and the type of feedback drivers receive from the system. The data collection part of the experiment is scheduled to run for 8 months for each family