Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety-Queensland (CARRS-Q), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
PLoS One. 2021 Apr 29;16(4):e0250273. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250273. eCollection 2021.
Driving under the influence (DUI) increases the risk of crashes. Emerging technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), represent potentially powerful and attractive tools for the prevention of risky behaviours, such as DUI. Therefore, they are embraced in prevention efforts with VR interventions primed to grow in popularity in near future. However, little is known about the actual effectiveness of such DUI-targeting VR interventions. To help fill the knowledge gap, this study explored the effects of one VR intervention as delivered in the real world. Using pre and post test design, including an intervention group (n = 98) and a control group (n = 39), the intervention evaluation examined young drivers' (aged 18 to 25, no known history of DUI) intention and self-reported behaviour three months after the intervention as compared to the baseline. The results did not provide evidence for statistically significant effects of the VR intervention on self-reported DUI behaviour during the three months post intervention and DUI intention at three months post intervention. Such results might be due to the fact that the recruited participants generally self-reported little DUI behaviour, i.e. positively changing behaviour that is already positive is inherently challenging. Nevertheless, the results question the utility of funding the roll-out of arguably attractive technologies without a thorough understanding of their effectiveness in particular settings. To improve the potential for future positive outcomes of such interventions, we provide suggestions on how VR software might be further developed and, subsequently, leveraged in future research to improve the likelihood for behavioural change, e.g. by collecting, analysing and presenting objective driving performance data. Alternatively, future endeavours might focus on participants with known DUI history and examine the effects of the VR intervention for this particular higher-risk group.
酒后驾车（DUI）会增加发生车祸的风险。新兴技术，如虚拟现实（VR），代表了预防危险行为（如 DUI）的潜在强大而有吸引力的工具。因此，它们被纳入预防工作中，预计未来 VR 干预措施将越来越受欢迎。然而，对于此类针对 DUI 的 VR 干预措施的实际效果知之甚少。为了帮助填补这一知识空白，本研究探讨了一种在现实世界中提供的 VR 干预措施的效果。本研究采用了预测试和后测试设计，包括干预组（n=98）和对照组（n=39），干预评估在干预后三个月与基线相比，检查了年轻司机（年龄在 18 至 25 岁之间，没有已知的 DUI 史）的意图和自我报告的行为。结果并未提供证据表明 VR 干预对干预后三个月内自我报告的 DUI 行为和干预后三个月内的 DUI 意图有统计学上的显著影响。这些结果可能是由于招募的参与者普遍自我报告的 DUI 行为较少，即积极改变已经积极的行为本质上具有挑战性。尽管如此，这些结果质疑在没有充分了解其在特定环境中的有效性的情况下，为可能有吸引力的技术的推出提供资金的合理性。为了提高此类干预措施未来取得积极成果的可能性，我们就如何进一步开发 VR 软件以及随后如何在未来研究中利用这些软件来提高行为改变的可能性提出了建议，例如通过收集、分析和呈现客观的驾驶表现数据。或者，未来的努力可能侧重于有已知 DUI 史的参与者，并研究 VR 干预对这一特定高风险群体的影响。
