Testing a Web Tool to Help Teen Drivers Avoid Cannabis- and Alcohol-Impaired Driving | Research

The takeaway

A web-based intervention called webCHAT showed high acceptability among teens in driver education, with 88% saying they learned helpful skills about impaired driving.

Parents of teen drivers, driver education instructors, and public health professionals working on impaired driving prevention.

88% of teen testers said they learned helpful skills about impaired driving

What the researchers found

In user testing with 8 adolescents, 88% would recommend the tool to a friend and 88% reported learning helpful skills. In follow-up interviews, 100% had positive impressions and 100% would recommend it.

Why it matters

Cannabis-impaired driving receives far less intervention attention than alcohol, even though teens increasingly view cannabis as low-risk. Embedding prevention tools in driver education reaches young people at a critical moment before they form driving habits.

The numbers in context

2 focus groups (n=6, n=5); 8 user testers; 88% would recommend to a friend; 88% learned helpful skills; 100% positive impressions in interviews; 67% found it easy to use

How the study worked

Researchers adapted a primary care brief intervention (CHAT) for online delivery, conducting two focus groups with teens aged 15-17 in Michigan and Colorado driver education programs, then user-testing the resulting prototype (webCHAT) with 8 additional adolescents.

What this study cannot tell us

Very small sample size (8 user testers, 11 focus group participants). This was a feasibility study without a control group or outcome measurement. Recruitment came from only two states.

How to read the evidence

Feasibility study with very small sample sizes and no control group. Promising early signal but far from definitive.

When this study was published

Published in 2024.

The bigger picture

Few interventions specifically address cannabis-impaired driving, let alone combined alcohol-cannabis impairment. Integrating prevention into existing driver education infrastructure could be a scalable approach to reaching at-risk teens.

Questions still open

Does webCHAT actually reduce impaired driving behavior when tested in a larger trial?
Would the intervention be equally effective in states with different cannabis legalization statuses?

Common questions

What is webCHAT?

It is a single-session online intervention adapted from a primary care tool, designed to prevent alcohol and cannabis impaired driving among teens in driver education programs.

Did teens actually like the intervention?

Yes. In both surveys and interviews, the vast majority gave positive feedback, said they would recommend it, and reported learning useful skills.

Read the original research

Feasibility and acceptability of a web-intervention to prevent alcohol and cannabis-impaired driving among adolescents in driver education.

Addiction science & clinical practice, 19(1), 83

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Nameth, Katherine; Ueland, Elizabeth; D'Amico, Elizabeth J; Osilla, Karen Chan. (2024). Feasibility and acceptability of a web-intervention to prevent alcohol and cannabis-impaired driving among adolescents in driver education.. Addiction science & clinical practice, 19(1), 83. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13722-024-00513-2