Distracted driving has quickly become a problem for drivers across the globe. No longer is driving under the influence the frontrunner in motor vehicle accidents, the prevalence of smartphones has risen distracted driving to comparable levels of vehicular accidents in recent years. To combat the rise of phone use while driving, a number of apps have been released that restrict usage of the device while in a moving vehicle. These applications can be installed on the device, automatically detecting when you begin driving and limiting the features of the device. On most, this means sending phone calls to voicemail and disabling the SMS functionality altogether. For parents that are concerned about their child’s phone use while driving, these apps provide some confidence that their son or daughter’s phone is being used responsibly when on the road.
A World of Cellphone Applications to Prevent Distracted Driving
If there is one application that can make distracted driving a thing of the past, it is OneTap. A convenient solution that has every feature you could ask for, with customization to suit individual needs, OneTap makes it simple to forget about your phone as you take to the road. With both an automatic and manual mode, you can set OneTap to start when you begin moving in a vehicle, or at your command. When you are not the one driving, OneTap makes it easy to take control of the device with a “Passenger” button that enables regular use of the device. If a call comes in, OneTap will send it to voicemail with an estimate on when you will reach your destination for the caller – mind you, all of these features are able to be tweaked or disabled to your liking, making this app perfect for business professionals and youth alike.
If OneTap doesn’t meet your needs, its competitor LifeSaver offers similar functionality with a few differences. Designed for family members to have more control of the device in question, LifeSaver is focused on preventing distracted driving. In an interview with EMSWorld, Mike Demele, the founder of LifeSaver, had this to say about their results with the application, “We looked at over 25,000 trips covering more than 200,000 miles of driving and found that the driver unlocked his or her phone in less than 1.5 percent of these trips,” said Demele. In other words, 98.5 percent of trips using LifeSaver were distraction free from their mobile device. “When contrasting this number to research showing 25 percent of teens admit to texting while driving, we are definitely taking a step in the right direction,” Demele noted.
Applications for Okanagan Families: Looking Out for Youth Drivers
There are other apps on the market that look to specifically target certain functions of the device, rather than usage as a whole. TextArrest, CellControl, TextLimit, and DriveScribe all serve similar purposes by locking out functions altogether when in a moving vehicle. If these applications are not direct enough in their approach, TrueMotion Mojo is intended to provide parents with all the relevant information as to how the device is being used while on the road. This allows parents to make the decisions needed to ensure their children are safe while driving, all in a convenient and well-designed interface.
For parents in the age of cellphones, making sure that their children are safe on the road goes far beyond the risks of substance use. The number of crashes caused by distracted driving is continuing to rise – take the steps necessary to prevent your child from being a part of this statistic with these applications that make it simple to lock down the device when the user’s focus is needed on the road.
