Can Gamifying Your Driver Training Prevent Distracted Driving?

Even under normal conditions, driving requires multitasking, like balancing navigation, steering, scanning, speed, and looking out for other drivers. Other distractions are added, like cell phones, music, and passengers, or mental distractions, such as fatigue, attitude toward other drivers, and worrying about running on time. All of these can cause a driver to take their eyes off the road just long enough to potentially be involved in an accident. However, gamified online simulator training can help control distractions that can ultimately lead to severe auto crashes.

“Most age groups are more apt to engage with gamified simulation training, provided the realistic, interactive nature versus a traditional lecture,” said Ariel Jenkins, Assistant Vice President of Risk Control at Safety National. “This training style can be especially important when trying to reach a younger audience, which tends to be more at risk for distracted driving incidents.”

Interactive driver simulations and gamified experiences can teach safe driving habits in a low-risk environment through the following:

1. Recognizing Distractions

Gamified simulation driver training can help a fleet driver identify common distractions, like text messages or incoming calls, passengers talking, adjusting music, or changing GPS directions. Typically, these driver training simulations will force a participant to experience the consequences of handling these optional distractions while still attempting to focus on unavoidable distractions. Unavoidable distractions may include oncoming vehicles, roadway signs, pedestrians, and unpredictable vehicle behavior. When distractions are missed, drivers receive immediate feedback, building their general awareness and cognitive abilities to recognize and respond to road hazards.

2. Challenging Response Times

Most drivers are unaware of how long their eyes leave the road when faced with a distraction. Gamification can prioritize that awareness through challenges, which educate trainees on the dangers of visual distractions that take their eyes off the road. For example, the simulation may have a driver receive a text message, but the trainee only has two seconds to respond. Another style of training has participants click on unavoidable distractions while receiving incoming texts. Afterwards, the trainee receives immediate feedback on how well or poorly they did with controlling distractions and multitasking while driving. The objective is to make trainees realize how difficult it is to safely respond to road hazards while distracted.  This can help build situational awareness and understanding of how to anticipate road hazards the next time they get behind the wheel.

3. Rewarding Focused Behaviors

Finally, gamification can help encourage a driver to build better habits behind the wheel. Training report cards and scores are higher when a trainee keeps their eyes on the road, ignores optional distractions, and completes their driving without incident. The objective is to create habit formation, which is possible through repeated practice. When drivers refresh their skills through recurrent gamified training, it can reinforce accident prevention skills and build muscle memory for managing distractions.

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