EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF A MULTIFACETED DISTRACTED DRIVING PREVENTION PROGRAM

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate undergraduate college students' attitude changes toward distracted driving af-ter participating in a multifaceted distracted driving prevention program.Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental, pre- post-test design. Participants were undergraduate college students who were aged 18 or older and had a valid driver's license. The Questionnaire Assessing Distracted Driving was used to measure participants' attitudes and behaviors. All participants completed the entire Questionnaire Assessing Distracted Driving survey and then participated in the distracted driving prevention program that consisted of a 10-minute narrated recorded PowerPoint lecture followed by a distracted driving simulation. Descriptive statistics were calculated to describe the study sample. The Questionnaire Assessing Distracted Driving data were analyzed to ascertain any statistically signif-icant changes in responses from pre-to postintervention.Results: From pre-to post-test, there were statistically signif-icant increases in the number of participants who reported they would tell friends to stop texting and driving if they were a pas-senger, refrain from texting while driving, and wait until reach-ing home before retrieving their cell phones from the floor of the vehicle. Participants perceived a greater threat from drivers talking on phones or texting/emailing from pre-to post-test. Moreover, attitudes toward talking on a handheld device, talk-ing on a hands-free phone, and texting/emailing became more negative from pre-to post-test.Conclusion: The intervention helped promote negative atti-tudes toward distracted driving in a sample of college students immediately after participating in a distracted driving prevention program.