Research team contacts

Principal Researcher:

Dr David Rodwell, School of Psychology & Counselling, QUT

Associate Researcher:

Dr Sherrie-Anne Kaye, School of Psychology & Counselling, QUT

Professor Ioni Lewis, School of Psychology & Counselling, QUT

Research Centre / Group:

MAIC-QUT Road Safety Research Collaboration

What is the purpose of this research?

The purpose of this research project is to understand why some young people may illegally use their mobile phone while they are driving a car, such as by sending text messages, making hand-held voice calls, receiving video calls or using social media.

Are you looking for people like me?

We are looking for people who:

  • are aged 17-25
  • reside in Australia
  • have a mobile phone
  • have a valid Australian (or equivalent international) license that allows you to drive a car without a parent or other supervisor with you (e.g. not a learner license).

What will you ask me to do?

Participation will involve completing a online questionnaire with mostly Likert scale answers (e.g. strongly agree – strongly disagree) that will take about 10-20mins. Once completed, you can choose to be sent a second, much shorter follow up survey three weeks later.

Are there any risks for me in taking part?

There are some risks associated with your participation in this research project. These include:

  • discomfort due to answering questions about your mobile phone use while driving. However, you are not asked to provide any specific details (e.g. time and location) when you may have used a mobile phone while driving and the survey does not ask you to provide your name or contact details. Most questions are answered on Likert scales and require no free-text responses, therefore the information is unlikely to be useful for the identification of illegal activities. If you start the survey but experience any discomfort, you may skip the question or exit the survey at any time
  • discomfort due to answering questions about road safety or crashes, particularly for participants who have been involved in or know someone involved in a car crash, especially one which involved driver distraction due to mobile phone use. If answering such questions is of concern, you are advised to consider not taking part in the survey. As above, if you start the survey but experience any discomfort, you may skip the question or exit the survey at any time.

Are there any benefits for me in taking part?

It is expected that this research project will not directly benefit you. The outcomes of the research, however, may lead to greater understanding of how and why young people make choices to use their mobile phone while driving which can inform solutions to reduce crashes that occur as a result.

Will I be compensated for my time?

If you choose to participate, the research team is offering the chance to win one of four $50 Wish eGift cards for completing the first survey, and for also completing the second survey, the chance to win one of two additional $50 Wish eGift cards. Alternatively, QUT psychology students enrolled in PYB100 or PYB102 may choose to receive 0.05% course credit for completion of the first survey and can enter the prize draw for the completing the second survey.

We intend to recruit 200 participants for this study.

I am interested - what should I do next?

Further details and how to participate in the study

QUT Ethics Number: 9390