A rewarding device called ‘Belonitor’ : the power of rewarding. The basic assumption of this project is that rewarding socially desired driving behaviour may have a positive impact on road safety and traffic flow. Road safety and traffic flow have a direct relationship with accessibility levels in cities. If one wishes to produce a long-term effect, rewarding desired behaviour works better than punishing undesirable behaviour. People tend to automatically resist restrictions on their behavioural freedom. This project has been designed to preserve individual freedom. The ‘Belonitor’ is an in-car device that can monitor the driving behaviour of the driver thanks to multiple sensors. The motorists who allow their personal driving behaviour to be monitored may be rewarded. People that show socially desired driving behaviour are rewarded. In order to achieve the expected impact in the field of road safety, a target group has been chosen that is more often involved in traffic accidents than average. The Belonitor is a practical experiment within the framework of Roads to the Future, the innovation programme of the Dutch Ministry of Transport. The experiment will have been successful if by means of a reward a positive behavioural change has been achieved within the target group, and this has a positive effect on road safety and/or traffic flow. (Author/publisher)
Abstract