Development and Effect Evaluation of Innovative Methodologies for The Improvement of Safe and Eco-friendly Driving Behaviour Through Gamification Among Truck Drivers in Ethiopia (R-10467)

Safety in the transport sector is an urgent issue in many countries, including Ethiopia. Due to the size and weight of these heavy vehicles, but also due to the lack of proper professional education of drivers, the busy work schedules, driver-related factors such as fatigue, distraction, etc. too many people get killed or injured on the road in traffic accidents involving heavy vehicles. Heavy goods vehicles also consume high volumes of fuel, especially when drivers do not adopt an eco-friendly driving style. Altogether, this does not only result in high human suffering, but also in significant operational costs for the transportation company (loss of productivity, high fuel costs, increasing insurance premiums, etc). Transportation companies are therefore looking for ways how to improve the safety and eco-driving culture of their drivers through proper education, coaching and training. In this PhD project, we will develop innovative schemes to assess the current status and willingness to change of drivers in terms of eco-driving and safety. Moreover, by means of a smartphone app and gamification procedures, drivers will receive scores, customized tips and feedback to improve their driving style and we will assess the effectiveness of such schemes. The approach is innovative in this respect that the methodology will enable a high level of automation in the scoring, feedback and tips such that the efforts from a company representative (coach, trainer) are reduced to a minimum.

Keywords:traffic safety

Disciplines:Intelligent transportation systems, Transportation impact analysis

Project type:Collaboration project