A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial (Crct) Evaluation of a Pre-Driver Education Intervention Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Abstract

Road traffic injuries are the leading of cause of death of 15-29 year olds worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2018) making young driver safety a global public health concern. Pre-driver road safety education programmes are popular and commonly delivered with the aim of improving safety amongst this at risk group, but have rarely been found to be effective (Kinnear, Lloyd, Helman, Husband, Scoons, Jones et al., 2013). A pre-driver education intervention (DriveFit) was designed and evaluated with a cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT) using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991). The responses of 16–18-year-old students (n = 437) from 22 schools in Devon, UK were analysed and showed that the DriveFit intervention led to some small improvements in risk intentions, attitudes, and other measures, which diminished over time and differed by sub-group. The findings provide some guidance on future research to design and evaluate educational intervention for pre-drivers and novice drivers.

Keywords: Young driver, Pre-drivers, Road Safety Education, Behaviour Change Techniques, Theory of Planned Behaviour, Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial