Testing nudges to collect traffic and parking fines

Last registered on January 09, 2018

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Testing nudges to collect traffic and parking fines
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002611
Initial registration date
January 07, 2018

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 09, 2018, 10:35 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
January 09, 2018, 6:04 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Australian National University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2017-10-16
End date
2018-02-28
Secondary IDs
Abstract
In July 2016, the estimated value of uncollected traffic and parking infringements in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was approximately $33 million. The aim of this trial is to test the effectiveness of letters on the collection of traffic and parking fines. The trial focuses on debt cases that are more than six months old. Two treatment letters are being tested. The first letter addresses social norms. The second letter highlights that unpaid fines do not go away. The control group does not receive a letter.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Sinning, Mathias. 2018. "Testing nudges to collect traffic and parking fines." AEA RCT Registry. January 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2611-2.0
Former Citation
Sinning, Mathias. 2018. "Testing nudges to collect traffic and parking fines." AEA RCT Registry. January 09. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2611/history/24825
Sponsors & Partners

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Two treatment letters are being tested. The first letter addresses social norms. The second letter highlights that unpaid fines do not go away. The control group does not receive a letter.
Intervention Start Date
2017-10-25
Intervention End Date
2017-12-22

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Amount paid, payment in full (yes/no), payment plan entered (yes/no), fine successfully withdrawn (yes/no), fine transferred to another driver (yes/no), case closed for other reason (yes/no), number of days until payment after letter was sent, number of days until payment plan entered after letter was sent.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The aim of this trial is to test the effectiveness of letters on the collection of traffic and parking fines. The trial focuses on debt cases that are more than six months old. Two treatment letters are being tested. The first letter addresses social norms. The second letter highlights that unpaid fines do not go away. The control group does not receive a letter.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization in Stata using a random seed. The Stata command randtreat v1.4 (5 April 2017) was used for stratification.
Randomization Unit
Randomization at the individual level; no clustering.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
10,702 individuals.
Sample size: planned number of observations
10,702 individuals.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment group 1: 986 individuals, Treatment group 2: 972 individuals, Control group: 8,744 individuals.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Human Research Ethics Committee, Australian National University
IRB Approval Date
2017-10-24
IRB Approval Number
2017/783
Analysis Plan

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials