The Driver2020 project was a randomised controlled evaluation of five interventions aimed at improving the safety of young and novice drivers in their first year of driving – a period during which they are known to be at increased risk of collisions. The interventions were a logbook app, hazard perception training, education, telematics app, and mentoring agreements. The project collected data on self-reported collisions and surrogate safety measures.

There were two arms of the trial – one for participants recruited as learners and one for those recruited as novices – with a separate control group for each arm. Recruitment for the learner trial and delivery of the learner interventions started in January 2019, with the novice counterparts starting in October 2019.

The timelines of both arms of the trial were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Driving tests and driving lessons were cancelled during national lockdowns, significantly affecting both novice recruitment and participants’ learning-to-drive processes. Reduced levels of driving during restrictions, and post-pandemic changes in driving habits, also impacted participants on-road exposure post-test. 

Engagement with the interventions was very low suggesting that a real-world roll-out in a voluntary context would not be effective at reducing collisions. In those participants who did engage, the mentoring agreement and hazard perception training interventions were shown to have potentially the best safety benefits. The other interventions had mixed findings.

This presentation will discuss the findings of the trial, including intervention effectiveness, the impact of COVID-19 on learning to drive and implications for future policy considerations. 

Dr Shaun Helman, Chief Scientist & Dr Jill Weekley, Principal Evaluation Consultant, TRL (both)

Dr Jill Weekley is a Principal Evaluation Consultant at TRL with 20 years’ experience working in transport.

During her time at TRL she has led projects in a range of areas, most recently focusing on driver behaviour and the evaluation of behaviour change interventions in different contexts, such as driver training and licensing, new technologies and interactions with other road users and road infrastructure - with the aim of improved road safety. 

She has significant experience in the management and delivery of large-scale impact evaluations, leading both Driver2020 – a nationwide randomised controlled trial involving 28,000 young and novice drivers – and several evaluations of the national behaviour change courses for driving offences.

Dr Shaun Helman is a cognitive psychologist who has been involved in researching road safety and driver behaviour for more than 15 years.

He is particularly interested in the links between driver behaviour and safety outcomes such as collisions and injuries, and in high-risk groups such as young and novice drivers, those driving for work, and motorcyclists.