Outcome Evaluation of i-DREAMS (H2020 Project) Interventions: Multi-country Comparison of Driving Behavior

Abstract

The i-DREAMS project introduced the concept of a 'Safety Tolerance Zone,' i.e., a context-aware safety envelope designed to assist drivers. Using an ecosystem of sensors, i-DREAMS technology monitors factors that determine driving task complexity and coping capacity and calculates risk levels. Real-time and post-trip interventions are tailored to keep drivers from unsafe driving. Real-time interventions are provided via in-vehicle display, while post-trip interventions are delivered via a smartphone app with gamification provisions. This study focuses on the effectiveness (i.e., outcome evaluation) of real-time and post-trip interventions that involve 4 phases, including the baseline measurement phase. The paper presents a comparative analysis using the data collected from car drivers from three countries: Belgium (n = 48), the UK (n = 49), and Germany (n = 25). Overall, drivers showed a reduction in events per 100 km after exposure to the i-DREAMS technology. So, there was an improved safety outcome. However, differences were found between the countries analyzed. The highest number of events per 100 km was noted for UK drivers, with the reduction pattern consistent across 4 phases. The interventions were more promising for 'road shar-ing' and 'speeding' events for Belgian and German drivers. Driver-level analysis revealed that two-thirds of drivers in each country showed a consistent decrease in events/100 km.