Safe Driving Apps Can Prevent Car Accidents

Safe driving apps can be installed onto mobile devices to reduce the risk of distracted driving resulting from texting, talking, and using search engines.  Distracted drivers are at increased risk of causing an injury or fatality crash. Though there are a variety of actions that take a driver’s attention away from the road, one of the most prevalent causes of distracted driving is mobile phone use. The solution, however, may present itself directly from the source of the problem.

What Constitutes Distracted Driving? 

Any activity that takes the driver’s focus away from the road constitutes distracted driving. This includes seemingly harmless behaviors such as texting, talking on the phone, searching for music, operating navigation systems, eating and drinking, and talking with passengers. The most common cause of distracted driving is mobile phone operation, primarily texting. Sending or reading one text while traveling at highway speeds can take a driver’s focus off of the road for the length of a football field. This provides ample opportunity for an injury or fatality crash to occur. 

The Consequences of Distracted Driving

Using a mobile device while driving impairs an individual’s reaction time to the same degree as a blood alcohol concentration of .08%. In addition, using a cell phone while driving quadruples the risk of an accident. 2,841 American lives were lost as a direct result of distracted driving car crashes in 2018 alone. In 2009, 20% of injury crashes involved distracted driving. Individuals who cause accidents due to distracted driving are considered negligent in personal injury claims.

Safe Driving Apps That Prevent Distracted Driving

Several applications exist as a way to prevent distracted driving due to mobile phone use. Sprint’s drive first app, fleetsafer mobile, textecution, cellcontrol, kyrus mobile, and drivesafe.ly are all viable options for individuals and employers who are looking to reduce distracted driving behaviors. Drive first limits phone functionality while driving to essential apps (such as navigation) and redirects phone calls to voicemail. Fleetsafer and kyrus mobile operate as commercial options, also locking down on functionality, redirecting calls, and sending automatic replies to text messages. Drivesafe.ly operates at a hands-free level, reading texts out loud and responding without requiring the individual to handle the device. Textecution simply disables texting when a vehicle’s speed exceeds 10mph. Cellcontrol disables cell phone functionality, as well as locking down on tablet and laptop use.