Surprise rewards to get tired drivers to stop
Soft measures could double the number of tired drivers stopping to take a break. Today, the desire to arrive fast seems so strong that just warning drivers that they are tired might not be enough. MeBeSafe have found one solution in handing out random rewards.
Purpose
Have drivers take a break when they are tired
HOW?
When the car detects drowsiness, the driver is told they will get a secret gift if they stop in the next 20 mins. When they stop, a random voucher is given out.
KEY CONCEPTS
Curiosity, acquisitiveness
EFFECT
Twice as many drivers (87%) stopped within 20 minutes compared to only telling them they are tired.
Today, some cars have developed features to detect if drivers are tired, and then inform them that they should stop and take a break. This is manifested in Volvo cars by showing the drivers a coffee cup symbol if they are tired, and this has been found to make 44% of the drivers stop. This is good, but it could be better. Moreover, many cars also don’t have this feature.
The new implementation developed by MeBeSafe appeals to people’s curiosity, and their love for receiving things. It is based on the existing algorithm to detect when a driver is tired, which was first developed by Volvo Cars in a prior project, but has been packaged in a new interface.
Now when a driver is found to be tired, they will be shown a message that if they stop within 20 minutes, there will be a secret gift card waiting for them. Only when they stop will they know how much it is worth and where it can be used. The message was delivered from a screen within the vehicle (a mobile phone in the field trial). This was found to make 87% of the drivers stop – twice as many as with the coffee cup symbol alone.
The test was carried out on 49 participants, with a baseline period of 6 months and a testing period of 5 months.
developed by Volvo Cars, Shell, SWOV, Cranfield, Cygnify, BMW Group and Virtual Vehicle