There’s an App for Saving Teen Drivers
by Antonio Wells
Apr 30, 2010 1:28 PM –
Impact Teen Drivers, a California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to saving lives, have partnered with OTTER App, an Android App geared towards curbing the texting while driving habit, to help teen drivers reduce distractions on the road. This comes at the cusp of Oprah launching “No Phone Zone” campaign raising awareness and today April 30th is the national day. Plus the month of May is National Youth Traffic Safety Month.
“The new OTTER app is a tool that will enable teens and parents to easily put their phone into a mode that is safe while driving, without losing the connectivity that teens crave,” said Dr. Kelly Browning, Executive Director of Impact Teen Drivers.
While activated in GPS or Parental Control Mode, OTTER will silence all incoming texting and phone call ringtones while the user is in a moving vehicle, plus initiate a response telling others they are driving. This eliminates the temptation for a teen to read or respond to a text or phone call while driving, therefore removing substantial risk of death or injury that is associated with those distractions.
A unique feature the app has is that it deters the habit in a non-invasive way, it does not lock down the phone and you can still text and make calls if necessary. If you’re a concerned parent and your teen driver has an Android phone, take a look at our Android app review of OTTER to see if it’s suitable for your family.
This is one of many programs and apps geared toward delivering the message, we’ll keep you posted on them.