Mobile App Makes Texting While Driving Virtually Impossible

Last year, nearly one-quarter of automobile collisions involved cellphones. And the distracted driving epidemic keeps getting worse, particularly among teens new to driving. Nearly 6,000 deaths occured in the U.S. this year as a result of distracted driving.
A new software suite called OneProtect, which includes a mobile app and web browser, is here to curb the destructive impact our attention to our mobile phones and texting can have on our driving.
Once installed, the OneProtect technology blocks drivers from using their phones while in motion. Once your phone’s GPS indicates your car is moving above a speed of your choosing — the default is 15 miles per hour — it will lock up.
What sets OneProtect apart from other distracted driving apps is its Attention Verification Test (AVT), a patent-pending technology that differentiates between drivers and passengers.
“We assume users won’t be compliant, so the Attention Verification Test is the only effective check,” Cirian Hynes, CEO of OneProtect maker 10n2 Technologies, told Mashable.
The AVT first asks you whether you’re a passenger or a driver, once it picks up that you’re traveling above the pre-selected speed. If you select you’re the driver, the AVT locks your phone until you drop below the speed threshold. If you select that you’re a passenger, you’re asked to confirm that you’re not driving at that exact time, such as “9:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 7.”
You are then given the Attention Verification Test, which asks you to precisely tap on letters that appear on your screen in a short amount of time. The AVT is tested be essentially impossible for drivers, but doable for passengers. When Mashable tried it during a product demo, we found it difficult to tap the letters in the allotted time, even while sitting still.
In case of emergencies when a driver may need to use his or her phone, OneProtect lets you has 911 and two pre-selected emergency numbers of your choosing available at the touch of a button.
OneProtect also has a web application that lets administrators, like parents or employers, chose the threshold speed, enable and disable the AVT, activate the app based on time of day, and view usage notifications. This means teen drivers can’t disable the app without permission from their parents.

Why Employers Should Care

OneProtect also has a program called BizProtect, offering employers an option to avoid liability in collisions. While this may not seem like an obvious need for employers, the app is designed to keep companies from being held responsible in destructive collisions — as well as for avoiding collisions all together.
According to the Network for Employers for Traffic Safety, highway crashes that occur while on the job cost employers more than $24,500 for each crash. That’s because employers are liable if the accident occurs during work hours, while an employee is taking a work call or is driving a company vehicle. Overall, it’s very easy for the company to be held responsible in court.
The software package varies in price on use, but generally it’s $5.99 per month per use for families and $4.99 per month per use for companies.

Source: Mashable