Teen Driver Support System (TDSS) Technology Transfer

Project summary:

The Teen Driver Support System (TDSS) is a smartphone application designed to provide real-time, in-vehicle feedback to novice drivers about their driving behavior to help them make safer driving decisions. The app provides warnings to the driver using in-phone sensors and maps to determine when the driver engages in in risky behavior. TDSS was evaluated in a field operational test that showed the system successfully helps reduce certain risky behaviors among teens using the system.

The project documented in this report seeks to extend prior work on the system to make it suitable for future applications. This work included adding features, fixing bugs, and rebranding the system as Road Coach. It also included identifying and pursuing possible future applications of the technology. These efforts enabled the app's use in a new application focused on providing in-vehicle feedback to older drivers. This application was evaluated as part of two separate projects. These usability and field operational test projects had positive results, notably high user acceptance, and system efficacy in reducing certain risky driving behaviors. Future work in this area will continue to pursue this application of the technology as well as others.