Real-time coaching programs for Manage-How-You-Drive insurance schemes: Analysis of retention after feedback removal

Manage-How-You-Drive (MHYD) is an innovative usage-based insurance scheme where drivers are charged premiums based on their safety performance, incorporating real-time coaching programs to provide drivers with contingent feedback, nudging them to drive more safely. As limited research exists on these novel schemes, this study aims to confirm their effectiveness, by expanding the sample size and the scope of analysis from a previous study by the authors, and to specifically focus on the retention of improved behavior and the impact of driver characteristics and feedback types on retention. A driving simulator experiment involving 100 drivers was used to test four feedback systems, with different modality (auditory vs. visual) and valence (i.e., pleasantness of the feedback: positive vs. negative), based on the occurrence of Elevated Gravitational-Force Events (EGFEs, i.e., harsh acceleration/deceleration events). Drivers completed three trials, spaced four weeks apart. The first trial served as a baseline without any feedback, in the second trial one of the feedback systems was presented, and the third trial had no feedback. Program effectiveness and retention were assessed based on EGFE occurrences and mean acceleration/deceleration. Its indirect influence on speeding, tailgating, and lateral control was investigated to assess potential additional enduring effects on safety performance. Drivers, especially those identified as “aggressive” during the baseline trial, not only significantly benefited from using the coaching program, but were also able to at least partially retain such benefits in terms of acceleration/deceleration, speeding and tailgating, irrespective of feedback type. These findings highlight the potential practical advantages of MHYD real-time coaching systems for road safety.