Apps to fight distracted driving

By Chris Cole, Experimac Highland Village

We have a tough question for you this month. Have you ever texted while driving or been distracted in any other way while behind the wheel?

Last month was the National Safety Council’s sponsored Distracted Driving Awareness Month. In a recent poll, it was found that a staggering 69% of Americans admitted to distracted driving. The instances cited included texting, web surfing, phone calls and GPS navigation. In 2015, there were 3,477 people who died and another 391,000 were injured as a result of distracted driving.

Perhaps the most sobering fact of all in these cases is that the accidents could have been avoided.  As a parent, reading these statistics can be very alarming and raise many concerns about your teenagers and their driving habits. We’ve done some research and compiled a list of the best apps to help prevent distracted driving, take a look:

LifeSaver – The LifeSaver app offers an impressive lineup of features that not only encourages safer driving practices but rewards users for driving safely. For starters, it blocks incoming texts and phone calls to keep the driver focused on the road. It also sends parent notifications when the user arrives at their destination. Lastly, it tracks the number of safe miles driven and parents can set milestones and rewards for their children to help encourage them to use this app and drive safe.

AT&T DriveMode – This is another great option that helps promote safe driving. This app also blocks incoming texts and phone calls while driving but has a feature which automatically turns the app on when it senses the user driving over 15 mph so there’s no excuse for not using the app.

TrueMotion Family – This app offers a unique feature that gives your drive a “trip score.” You can then view the statistics of your drive so that you can make adjustments to your driving accordingly. It also offers a fun way to compete with friends and family over who’s the safer driver!

Mojo – This free app runs automatically in the background every time you drive. The app awards you 1 point for each minute of safe driving exhibited on the road. Once you reach 300 points you get awarded a $5 gift card. Hard to turn that down.

At Experimac Highland Village, we value your safety and understand this needs to be a priority if we’re ever going to see a reduction in accidents caused by distracted driving.

If you’re having trouble with your Apple phone, laptop, computer, or installing these apps, bring it in to Experimac Highland Village today and we’ll take a look. Buy | Sell | Trade | Repair | Upgrade | 972-317-0978 | 4141 Waller Creek Ste. 160 Highland Village 75077