App to help people become better drivers

For most people, using a smartphone while driving is the last thing anyone would want to encourage in the interest of safe driving. However, major US insurance company State Farm, is launching a new free mobile application, Driver Feedback, which turns a person's cell phone into a pocket-sized driving coach.
February 3, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

For most people, using a smartphone while driving is the last thing anyone would want to encourage in the interest of safe driving. However, major US insurance company 2192 State Farm, is launching a new free mobile application, Driver Feedback, which turns a person's cell phone into a pocket-sized driving coach. The application, available for iPhone and iPod touch, provides users individual feedback about their driving habits and then offers tips on how people can drive more safely.

Research shows that certain driving habits can increase the risk of a car crash. The Driver Feedback app uses the device's accelerometer to measure three essential driving behaviours: acceleration, braking, and cornering. When activated, at the end of each trip, the driver is provided a score and a log of potentially dangerous driving activities. If the app detects especially risky driving behaviours it provides the driver tips for improvement.

State Farm says that the Driver Feedback app is particularly useful for parents teaching teens how to drive. It offers teen drivers and their parents access to useful non-biased driving feedback, to help families have constructive conversations about safe driving. In addition, the app can be a useful and objective tool to help assess a teen's readiness for independent driving.

However, experienced drivers may benefit from this app, too. Research from the National Highway Traffic Administration has shown that hard acceleration, deceleration and cornering are associated with higher crash risk. The Driver Feedback app can help identify problem areas, providing drivers of any age with useful tips to help reduce the risk of crashes.

The Driver Feedback app is currently available for iPhone and iPod touch and is free for anyone to download. Information on the app remains with the user and is not collected or used by State Farm.

Networking & Communication Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Enforcement cuts distracted driving dramatically
    April 17, 2012
    The government of Indonesia says it is working to reduce the number of road deaths in the country by 50 per cent by 2020 and by 80 per cent by 2035. To achieve this, the government will be upgrading the road infrastructure as well as introducing a road safety programme that will run over a ten-year and 25-year plans, starting this year. The programme will be overseen by the National Planning Development Board with involvement of the national police as well as the public works, transportation, national educa
    Read More
  • Mobilising data for the future of urban transport
    August 8, 2018
    It's not just gathering the data that's important, says Johan Herrlin - it's making sure that transport organisations share it with one another that will determine travellers' satisfaction. Data is transforming the way we move around cities, from family car journeys to the daily train commute. Gone are the days when travelling from A to B meant remembering your AA map and having to ask for directions at regular intervals. If you were trying to navigate London as a tourist a mere decade ago, it required
    Read More
  • Report finds 87 per cent of US drivers engage in unsafe driving behaviour
    March 4, 2016
    About 87 per cent of drivers in the US engaged in at least one risky behaviour while behind the wheel within the past month, according to latest research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. This includes driving while distracted, impaired, drowsy, speeding, running red lights or not wearing a seat belt. These results come as nearly 33,000 Americans died in car crashes in 2014, and preliminary estimates project a nine percent increase in deaths for 2015. The report finds that one in three drivers ha
    Read More
  • Polarisation is glaringly obvious, says Sony
    December 3, 2018
    Glare from the sun is a factor in a large number of road accidents – many of them fatal. But there is a solution at hand: using polarisation can mitigate the effect of glare and improve ITS camera enforcement, explains Stephane Clauss The effect of glare on driver safety has been well documented. A 2013 UK study by the country’s largest driver organisation, the AA, calculated sun glare was a contributing cause in almost 3,000 road accidents in 2012 alone. This represented one in 33 accidents on Britain’s
    Read More

Highlighted Content