Assignment 7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

Opportunity: Prevent the use of smart phone devices while driving.

· The who: All drivers of moving vehicles.

· The what: This distraction is causing unsafe conditions on the roadways resulting in property damage, accidents, injury, and death.

· The why: Increased usage of smart phone devices is growing exponentially. This, coupled with driver unwillingness or inability to self-regulate their device usage while driving, shows a correlation of increasing numbers of traffic related accidents and fatalities.



Testing the who: Are there others that have this need?

· Pedestrians.

· Non-motorized vehicle operators (i.e. bicycles, skateboards).

· Drivers of other vehicles.

· Insurance companies.

· Law enforcement.

· Non-driving vehicle passengers (including personal vehicles and public transport).

Testing the what: What are the boundaries of the need?

· Drivers of vehicles who are not using a smart device (i.e. victims)

Testing the why:

· Ineffective existing regulations/laws are not adequately addressing the issue.

· Poor communication of current laws, so citizens do not comply out of ignorance.

· Increasing app complexity requires more dedicated attention and interface from user.

· Inability for people to understand or accept the potential consequences of personal actions.



Interview summary:

All interviewees overwhelmingly agree that there is an issue that current efforts, or lack of existing deterrents, are not solving. They all site concerns with their own safety due to negligence of other drivers, and some admit they lack the self-restraint to prevent the creation of potential safety concerns to themselves and others through their own device use while driving. Multiple personal stories of witnessing near misses or actual incidents, being involved in actual incidents, and having friend and family fatalities due to this issue were given.



Key learnings:

While the interviews revealed a unanimous agreement that further effort is needed to curb smart device use while behind the wheel, there was substantial resistance to having device interaction limitations forced on them (through technological or other barriers). This includes those that admit they cannot self-regulate their device usage while driving. Any self-regulated solutions will need to come with substantial incentives for people to opt in and use. Any mandated or imposed solutions may require legislation for mandatory compliance.