One of the world’s leading phone manufacturer Samsung, has recently launched an Android mobile app that prevents you from texting while driving.
The app, called “Eyes on the Road“, wants to do exactly what the name suggest: for users to pay attention to the road. If you are traveling above 20 kilometers per hour, it blocks the phone and sends an auto reply to text messages that says you are behind the wheel.
Are there a lot of people using their phone while driving? Apparently there are. A survey in Singapore showed that more than eight out of ten drivers admitted using their phones without a hands-free kit while driving in the past year.
So how does tha app work? The app uses your phone’s sensor fusion technology and GSM cell towers to measure your speed to determine if you’re driving. If you are, it hides phone calls, SMS text messages, and social media alerts until you reach your destination. Drivers simply need to open the app when they enter their car to activate the Drive Safe mode. Drivers can deactivate the app when they have safely arrived at their destination.
To incentivise users from using the app when they are driving, users can win Shell gas vouchers and insurance premium discounts.
The application is also endorsed by the Traffic Police and Singapore Road Safety Council.
The campaign to promote road safety was created by ad agency CHEIL Singapore, and was launched back in 6th November and will run to 31st January 2014. However, to date, there are only between 100 – 500 downloads for the app.
Judging from the lack of downloads, we can safely assume that the campaign has not been as successful in driving awareness among drivers. However, the promo video of the campaign has over 10,000 views.
One would imagine with the backing of Samsung, the app would have a wider reach. Is the campaign a flop?enablejsapi=1&html5=1&
Also read: SingTel’s new shopping app Lyke, has 50 – 100 Android downloads 3 weeks since launch
