GPS-Enabled, Zero-Tolerance Distracted Driving Application Prevents Texting, Talking and Emailing

Distracted driving related accidents caused by the increase use of cellphones is an unnecessary pandemic that is having a disasters impact in our society.

(I-Newswire) September 18, 2010 - Trabuco Canyon, CA,– appsFX, a leading provider of BlackBerry Smartphone applications for both business and personal use, and in support of the 2nd Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, D.C. has launched LifeSaver™, a GPS-enabled zero-tolerance distracted driving application that eliminates the temptation to text, email or talk while driving.

“Statistics show that texting is one of the leading causes of distracted driving, especially among teens,” says Rocci Della Maggiore, President of appsFX. “But in developing LifeSaver, our goal was to eliminate all of the distractions associated with cell phones, not just texting, for everyone who drives.”

According to Pew Internet & American Life Research in their Adult June 2010 and Teen September 2009 studies, almost half (47%) of all adults who use text messaging say they have sent or read messages while driving. That compares to one in three (34%) texting teens, ages 16-17, who said they have “texted while driving”. Millennials (ages 18-33) are more likely than any other age group to tex¬t while driving: 59% saying they have sent or read messages behind the wheel, compared to just 50% of text-using Gen Xers (ages 34-45), and 29% of texting Baby Boomers (ages 46-64). According to Nielson Company, the average teen sends/receives approximately 3,000 texts per month.

Another survey just released by Seventeen Magazine and AAA, the auto club in August 2010, showed that nearly 90 percent of teenage drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 acknowledged such distracted driving behavior as texting or talking on a cellphone. Eighty-four percent said they were aware that distracted driving increased the risk of a crash, and 86 percent acknowledged such distracted driving behaviors as texting, talking on cellphones, eating, adjusting radios or applying makeup.

Texting is not the only distraction. Talking, whether hands free or not is a major cause for alarm as it causes the drivers focus to be somewhere other than the road. Seventy-five percent of adults who own cell phones say they have talked while driving and a little more than half (52%) of cell-owning teens ages 16-17, also reported talking while driving. Overall, 61% of American adults say they have had conversations on a cell phone while behind the wheel.

For anyone who drives, LifeSaver is just that, a life saver. Using its GPS tracking system, LifeSaver assumes control over the phone at a pre-determined speed and disables the ability to talk, text or email while driving. While LifeSaver is engaged, based on the user/administrator pre-set notifications, the phone will vibrate, the screen will flash and specified audio will play alerting the driver that LifeSaver is protecting them. Once the vehicle comes to a stop, LifeSaver is disengaged and the driver will have complete access to any emails, texts or calls that came in during their drive.

“Using password protection, LifeSaver prevents your teen, employee or anyone else you choose from turning it off,” added Rocci. “And, if monitoring speed is important, LifeSaver can also send an email notification that the preset maximum speed has been exceeded, as well as a current GPS link to identify the driver’s location.”

For business users with multiple Blackberrys deployed throughout their workforce, appsFX has developed its web portal technology that can “push” the application to all of the company’s users at once to ensure that the pre-set criteria is implemented and company policies are being adhered to, as well as complete compliance with State and Local driving laws and corporate driving mandates are being met.

For more information about appsFX, its products and category specific applications – Productivity/Utility; Alerts/Alarms; Monitoring and Distracted Driving, visit www.appsfx.com or call 949-630-3390.

About appsFX
appsFX is a leading developer of innovative BlackBerry applications that enhances the productivity, efficiency and utility of personal and professional Smartphones.