"Anything to make kids safer is a good idea," says one Georgia parent, while examining a new phone application from AT&T.
The "app," as is common parlance these days, is aimed most directly at teen motorists, who are at the top of virtually every statistical measurement that tracks car accidents, speeding, reckless driving and other adverse driving outcomes.
AT&T calls its new product Drive Mode, and lauds its utility and ease of use. It also defends the logic of marketing it especially toward teen drivers, given that younger and novice drivers are, as a group, involved in a disproportionately high number of car crashes and other motor vehicle accidents.
Texting only makes things worse, with the average teenager sending and receiving text messages at a rate five times higher than an adult typically does. AT&T estimates that well over 800,000 car crashes can be attributed each year across the country to a distracted driver who was engaged in texting instead of paying due attention to the road.
And, thus, the app. Drive Mode "is very user friendly," says an AT&T area manager, in explaining its automatic messaging system.
Essentially, the app responds to a driver's incoming texts -- as well as calls and e-mails, if programmed to do so -- by informing the sender that the motorist is busily engaged behind the wheel and will respond when it is safe to do so.
The app contains additional safety features, as well, and is a free service for all of AT&T's Blackberry customers.
Related Resource: WALB 10, "Smart phone app could prevent texting while driving" Aug. 31, 2011
