Timothy Cody of Manasquan NJ was driving through a traffic circle one day when a woman driving an SUV while talking on a cell phone almost drove him off the road. As he was turning to get back on the road, he heard a public service announcement on the dangers of texting while driving. He thought "There's got to be some way to stop this" and the idea for a new app was born.

The result was the Drive Alive App. While there are quite a few apps available that shut off a driver's cell phone while the car is in motion, this is the first app that depends on the driver’s promise to refrain from using a cell phone while driving and provides tangible rewards to the driver for doing so. Here's how it works. Once a driver downloads the app, he or she turns on the app before beginning to drive. While driving, the app uses the phone's GPS to determine that the vehicle is in motion. At the same time, the app keeps track of any use of the cell phone, whether it is calling, texting, or using other apps. Once the trip is completed, the driver closes the app. The app then sends the data to Drive Alive's secure data base. If, during any portion of the trip, the phone is activated for any reason while the vehicle is in motion, that particular trip is cancelled and the user loses any credit for that trip.



If the driver refrained from using the phone while driving, he or she qualifies for rewards such as discounted meals, half price beauty salon treatments or gift cards. Most popular of all is a cash reward, delivered directly to the user's Paypal account. The driver can also track their progress against others on a leader board to see how many rewards they have earned. The app is currently available only for Android phones but an iPhone app is expected by late February or early March 2012.


To provide rewards for cell phone free driving, Mr. Cody had to contact businesses in his local area and get them to sign on. Most of the businesses that are currently participating are in New Jersey but Mr. Cody hopes that will soon change as more businesses nationwide get onboard. He is also seeking donor contributions and has opened a new webpage at Kickstarter.com to seek pledges to the cause. He hopes to enlist larger businesses such as insurance companies to provide a larger reward pool for drivers who refrain from using their cell phones. His project will only be funded through Kickstarter.com if he can raise $5,000 in contributions by March 16, 2012.

Business owners can promote their business, while at the same time help to save lives by preventing distracted driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,474 people were killed on U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving in 2009. Distracted driving has become one of the biggest problems that lead to injuries and loss of life on US roads.

Businesses can sign on by visiting the Drive Alive App website at: http://www.drivealiveapp.com
Businesses, organizations, or individuals that want to pledge contributions can visit the Kickstarter.com website at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1265026628/drive-alive-an-incentive-based-safe-driving-smartp
There is also a Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/DriveAliveApp
And Twitter at: https://twitter.com/#!/DriveAliveApp

Labels: avoid distracted driving, banning texting, distracted driving, Drive Alive App, driving dangers, texting and driving

In these difficult economic times, employers who are looking for ways to cut costs may be overlooking a large savings that can be achieved rather easily and at a very low cost. That cost cutting method can be achieved through the institution of corporate driving safety policies and by educating not only employees but their families as well on the importance of driving safety.

No matter how dangerous the occupation, the most dangerous part of the day for any employee is the time spent behind the wheel, whether commuting to and from work or while driving as a part of their work duties. Traffic collisions after work hours by the employee or their family members also cost the employer in lost productivity and benefit costs.

The Network of Employees for Traffic Safety (NETS) has designated the week of October 3-7, 2011 as Drive Safely Work Week to educate employers and employees on the importance of driving safety. The NETS website contains a wealth of information for employers on the costs of traffic collisions and methods the employer can use to reduce traffic collisions by their employees and benefit-eligible dependents.

According to the NETS website's "10 Facts Every Employer Must Know," "In 2000, the economic cost of crashes to employers was $60 billion resulting in 3 million lost workdays. Two-thirds of the cost ($40 billion) was from on-the-job crashes while one-third ($20 billion) was from off-the-job crashes for employees and their benefit-eligible dependents.”

"The average on-the-job crash costs an employer about $16,500 or just under $0.16 per mile driven. Crashes involving injuries cost substantially more — $504,408 for a fatal injury and $73,750 for a nonfatal injury.”

"Damages awarded to plaintiff’s making negligence claims against companies are at an all time high, settlements of $1 million or more are not unusual."

The focus of 2011's Drive Safely Work Week, called "Focus 360" is on distracted driving. Distracted driving has been recognized over the past several years as one of the major safety issues on America's roads. The transformation of cell phones into mini-wireless computers has become the number one distracting force on the road and has led to a shockingly high number of collisions, injuries, and deaths. Add to that all of the other distracting activities that a driver can engage in and it is a wonder anyone is watching the road at all. A study by the Virginia Tech Traffic Safety Institute shows the following:

Behavior	Increased Crash Risk
Texting	23 Times
Reaching for a Moving Object	9 Times
Dialing a Cell Phone	6 Times
Driving Drowsy	4 Times
Looking at an External Object	3.7 Times
Reading	3.4 Times
Talking on a Cell Phone	4 Times
Applying Makeup	3 Times

If your company does not have a policy on distracted driving and cell phone use, you are encouraged to create one and vigorously enforce it.

Other steps that employers can take to institute their safe driving policies are to encourage their employees and their family members to attend driver training. Driver training classes, either online or in a classroom, can provide needed refresher training for employees and help them to refocus on what is really important behind the wheel. Providing such training can result in lower insurance costs for both the employer and the employee.

Labels: avoid distracted driving, drive safely work week, driver safety, driving drowsy, drowsy driving, traffic safety

Drunk driving is a terrible reality that exists in today's roads --- even with legislation, year after year, it seems that this continues to haunt motorist, any time of the year. That may change --- if the human element can't be corrected, some people are hoping that the cars of tomorrow become the cure themselves. There is currently legislation pending in Congress, one which aims to support research for the anti-drunk-driving technology for tomorrow's cars to be a reality.

The Roads Safe act, sponsored in the Senate by Senators Tom Udall and Bob Corker and in the House of Representatives by Shelley Moore-Capito, Heath Shuler and John Sarbanes. The legislation would help fund research on advanced alcohol detection technology that would make drunk driving impossible, or even obsolete.

At present, we currently have personal breathalyzers, ignition interlock devices and distracted driving prevention apps for smartphones. These are all well and good, but they are harder to implement on a wide scale, impossible to police (without being intrusive or violating the privacy of motorists) and sometimes, just plain expensive. Add to that, that these aren't all built-in with cars being sold today. These are aftermarket parts that have to be purchased and maintained separately, making most motorists clueless about them.

Though every motorist and pedestrian probably want even more safety for all, having to stick your mouth on a breathalyzer or ignition interlock device every single time you have to start your car is probably not the way to go.

If the legislation passes, $12 million a year over five years will be provided to fund research on new, emerging technologies for detecting impairment on behalf of the driver, without being invasive. The dadss (Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety) will be doing the research on technologies that may be able to detect alcohol from air samples in the vehicle passenger compartment, detect alcohol through the driver's skin using tissue spectroscopy, from emissions from the skin, from eye movements, and from driving performance.

The ultimate goal is to develop something that will be easy to deploy, non-invasive and effective. Once these advancements become ubiquitous with driving, drivers won't have a choice when it comes to distracted driving --- it simply won't be possible by then.

M.A.D.D. is urging everyone to support this legislation --- they urge everyone to show their email support (http://support.madd.org/site/R?i=So40TkkeQxdwYslDv3UB1A). for these technologies to become a reality, and hopefully eliminate drunk driving.

For more information on DADSS, visit their site. (http://www.dadss.org/ )

Labels: avoid distracted driving, breathalyzers, drunk driving, ignition interlock device, prevent drunk driving, road safe act

Focus Driven, a web site devoted to advocating for the victims of distracted drivers, recently announced the redesign of their website. With help from Allstate Insurance and other safety organizations, the new website dramatically points out the dangers of distracted driving by drivers who use cell phones or text while driving.

Focus Driven is devoted exclusively to advocating for the victims of distracted drivers by providing victims services and counseling. A goal of their website is to become the "primary national database of crash survivors, families of crash victims and other advocates" and in their words, "putting a human face to the science and statistics of distracted driving crashes."

As part of that effort, a heart wrenching feature of the website includes the individual stories of distracted driving victims and their families, including photos, bios, and the details of their death.

The organization recently held a Distracted Driving Summit in Illinois which featured US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, among others. Secretary LaHood said that distracted driving is responsible for at least 5,500 deaths and more than 450,000 injuries in the US. Focus Driven and the other sponsors are calling for legislation to ban the use of mobile communication devices while driving. According to Secretary LaHood, currently 30 states have banned texting while driving but only 8 have banned the use of hand-held cell phone use by drivers.

Focus Driven is unique in that its governing documents require that the governing board be made up exclusively of victims of distracted driving either directly or by the loss of a close relative.

For more information, visit the Focus Driven website at: http://www.focusdriven.org/

Labels: avoid distracted driving, cell phone, distracted driving, focused driven

Last month's proposed bill for a statewide ban on texting while driving has successfully passed Texas House, by an overwhelming vote of 124-16. The bill would prohibit the reading of messages while inside the vehicle, but would still allow it if there is a red light, or if the vehicle is completely stopped.

Tests have shown that someone distracted by texting or reading emails is 20 times more likely to get involved in an accident than a drunk driver.

While it has already passed, the bill has yet to undergo a procedural House and Senate review. A motorist caught writing, reading or sending a text message or email would be given a Class C misdemeanor and may be fined from $1 to $200.

This bill excludes the operation of GPS devices and drivers are still allowed to use voice-activated devices that will allow them to send messages.

Certain points were raised, such as the number of other states that have already imposed such a ban, stories shared by legislators with texting-while-driving casualties under their jurisdiction and if this bill would limit personal freedoms.

Sixty percent of the nation already has bans, and why shouldn't Texas be equally concerned? While the bill was modified a bit before voting last Wednesday, legislators still find value that lessening that chance to be distracted while driving, even if it allows them some form of it would be enough of a reason to get this bill passed.

The final reading will be on April 8 and the upper house is expected to support it. The Senate would still have to pass the bill before the law would take into effect later this year.

Labels: avoid distracted driving, banning texting, class c misdemeanor, distracted while driving, gps devices, texas, texting and driving

Every New Year presents everyone with the opportunity to start anew. Were you one of those who secretly texted while driving in 2010? Do you feel like the perfect way to change that is this time of year?

AT&T started a campaign to combat texting while driving way back in March of 2010, and the 10-minute documentary that they produced in the last week of 2010 really makes everyone just stop and think (AT&T Txting & Driving Campaign). Is one last text worth it?

Here are a few steps anyone could follow in order to make sure that resolution makes a lasting change --- and sticks. It might also help encourage others into doing the same.

State a clear intention/goal for the year – It could be a simple phrase or a simple statement like "I’ll keep the phone in the glove box before even starting the car and pull it out when the engine is completely stopped," or "no texting while driving." Write it down in a note then put it up on the fridge. Or simply repeat the statement when you're in the driver's seat. This helps anchor that idea into how you perform your day-to-day routines.

Consider the next actions you take with this goal – Okay, now that you have a phrase you could repeat, actually DO the action every time. Feel it out for the next few weeks --- are you noticing more and more things that are actually happening on the road? What would be your next course of action? Now that you've eliminated one distraction from driving (the texting), why not find more ways you could remove several other distractions?

Take a look back – Just to keep track of your progress, are you still itching to check your phone during a red light? Were you successful when you fought that urge? Or maybe you have stopped wondering about your phone while driving --- are people who ride your now-safe vehicle taking notice? Looking back helps you realize how far you’ve gone --- and may also point out areas of improvement, like putting the phone on silent, to lessen the urge of checking it, perhaps. This could be a monthly check if you’re reciting your intention every time you start the vehicle, or maybe you’ll notice that you can’t start the vehicle without making sure the phone belongs to where it is safe --- far from you, while driving.

Reach out to like-minded revolutionists – It can be a conversation among friends, or start the resolution with people in your family --- to help you enforce the rule and keep track of each other's progress. Ask them to point out when you look like you're tempted to check when they are riding with you. Help each other.

Be realistic and be kind – Most New Year's resolutions fail because people look back and wonder why nothing's changed when they have exerted nothing to get to that realistic goal. Be kind to yourself, when it comes to a resolution about texting while driving, the time could be the first week of January, or the third week of July --- it is never too late to start this resolution.

To help with this New Year's Resolution learn more about the measures taken to stop distracted driving and the distracted driving campaigns.

Labels: avoid distracted driving, banning texting, distracted driving, driving distractions, texting, texting and driving

A recently-published survey by Seventeen magazine and AAA have yielded a surprising result: even through all the months of reminding drivers and most especially teen drivers about texting while driving, the problem persists in our nation's youth.

Not that efforts by various organizations and law enforcement are in vain; these surveys were conducted in May, and given that several states have created new laws to combat this, the numbers in the present may be different. Take Connecticut, for example, where there's a ban for all drivers, teens or not, from using their cell phones while driving, has reported that the new laws are reducing the number of crashes. (http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/theridgefieldpress/news/localnews/66284-new-teen-driving-laws-are-reducing-crashes-says-rell.html)

Let's take a look at the situation, state-per-state, and how it will affect driving behavior in months to come.

Ban for all drivers
Mobile phones for ALL drivers, regardless of age or experience, the states that currently have this are: Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York.

What does this mean? This means that drivers who are caught driving while using/holding/operating a mobile phone may be reprimanded, what differs is how the state chooses to enforce this. For example, in Utah, there is no offense when speaking on a cell phone, unless a driver also commits some other moving violation other than speeding. In Utah, this offense is called careless driving.

Limited bans
In other states, there are bans only for inexperienced drivers. This means drivers who still have their learner's/provisional license, under 18 and are still on their way to getting a full license. States that enforce this are: Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, Indiana, West Virginia and Maine.

This doesn't mean that the law will completely allow full-license holders to go about operating their mobiles while driving. Some states require the vehicle to be in full stop before drivers are allowed to operate their phones.

Waiting
Some states are still waiting for official laws to be enacted, although with the current flood of distracted driving statistics, alerts, news, along with petitions from concerned drivers/citizens, it is only a matter of waiting for a law to pass. These states are: Montana, North and South Dakota, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, Florida, South Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Locales
Aside from state-wide bans, various local jurisdictions have found out that they may or may not need state authority to impose a ban. Localities that have placed restrictions include: Oahu, HI; Chicago, IL; Brookline, MA; Detroit, MI; Santa Fe, NM; Brooklyn, North Olmstead, and Walton Hills, OH; Conshohocken, Lebanon, and West Conshohocken, PA; Waupaca County, WI; and Cheyenne, WY.

AAA is aiming for a texting-ban on all 50 states. Which might not be all that surprising, given all these facts and surveys. Keep the phone in the glove compartment or pocket when driving.

Labels: avoid distracted driving, texting, texting and driving

Over the past few years distracted driving has come to the forefront of traffic safety discussions. Mostly everyone agrees that distracted driving is a leading cause of accidents and fatalities on roadways across the US. However, identifying the problem has not been the main objection for proposed distracted driving legislation.

For example, Georgia’s Governor, Sunny Perdue, threatened to veto text messaging and cell phone bills that has been passed by Georgia Legislature. Governor Perdue cited enforcement issues led him to consider the veto. In response to his threats safety advocates, law makers and students lobbied endlessly urging him to sign the bill. Finally, he signed the bill SB 360 which outlaws text messaging and related activities on a cell phone while driving.

Under Georgia’s new distracted driving laws text messaging will be banned for all drivers. Cell phone usage (both handheld and hands-free) is prohibited for all drivers under the age of 18. A $150 fine will be issued to those in violation of the new laws. These laws will go into effect on July 1, 2010.

Vermont and Kansas have also recently passed new distracted driving laws. Effective immediately in Vermont, drivers under 18 are banned from text messaging and using their cell phones while driving. Drivers caught violating the rule will be faced with fines ranging from $100-$250. For first time offenders the fine will be $100 and repeat offenders will face escalated fines up to $250.

Until January 1, 2011 drivers in Kansas will be issued a warning if they are caught text messaging while driving. Kansas’ Governor Mark Parkinson recently signed a bill that will be make it illegal to text message while driving for all drivers in Kansas regardless of age. The ban will go into effect January 1, 2011.

Previously, text messaging while driving, handheld cell phone use by adults and all cell phone usage by teenagers while driving had been outlawed in Connecticut. However, Connecticut recently made some adjusts to their current distracted driving programs. Governor Jodie Rell signed a plan that would make the previous laws stricter. In an effort to crack down on distracted drivers the new law does not include the previous law’s policy of forgiveness for some first offenders.

Now, first time offenders face a fine of $100. Repeat offenders face a fine of $150 and third time offenders face a fine of $200. Hand help cell phone use by adults is still outlawed. Cell phone use of any kind is still outlawed for teenagers as well.

Read more about the measures taken to stop distracted driving including distracted driving groups such as Oprah's No Phone Zone and phone/text blocker apps.

Labels: avoid distracted driving, distracted driving, distracted driving laws, texting, texting and driving

SNAP! That was your patience breaking under the pressure of having to juggle children or pets whilst driving, we've all been there before, bored children and restless pets can be really tricky to handle, but if you don't handle them properly, you could be putting yourself at risk of dangerous accidents hurting your, your pets, or even your children.

Let's face it, children can be very stressful sometimes, whether they are hungry or just bored, it can mean the difference between a nice day out and a day out to forget. Recent studies have shown that over ¾ of car collisions are caused by distracted drivers, and the majority of incidents occur within 3 seconds of the initial distraction. With such frightening statistics, it's obvious why more and more people are trying to find ways to keep their children and pets at bay while driving.

The best way to deal with children when traveling is to make sure they are occupied. Stretching around every five minutes is not only inconvenient, but very dangerous. The best approach to take is an organizational one. Pre-planning can often be a very clever tactic, think about where you're going, how long the journey will take, and the time you'll be leaving. These 3 factors are very important when it comes to pre-planning, as they could be the difference between a successful trip and a disastrous one.

When travelling for long periods of time, you might want to make sure that children have things to do that are appropriate for their age groups. Younger children might be perfectly contented with a coloring book, but older children may not. Try putting together a travel play pack for younger children. This can include coloring books, their favorite toys or stuffed animals, anything that you know will keep them occupied for the whole journey.

If you're stuck for ideas, there are some brilliant travel-sized games on the market, such as popular board games shrunk and made appropriate for car travel for children to play against each other, or personal games, electronic or otherwise. You could even put together a little music compilation to play in the car filled with child friendly songs; they will be far too busy singing along. For older children, MP3 Players, hand held electronics or books can keep them busy for as long as you need them to, however older children are usually a lot easier to deal with in the car.

Labels: avoid distracted driving, distracted driving, driving dangers, driving distractions, vehicle accidents