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

  • European ITS Congress emphasises ITS development and deployment
    January 26, 2012
    The 8th European ITS Congress is a key event for the industry. Hermann Meyer, CEO of Ertico-ITS Europe puts the event in context
    Read More
  • European ITS Congress emphasises ITS development and deployment
    February 6, 2012
    The 8th European ITS Congress is a key event for the industry. Hermann Meyer, CEO of Ertico-ITS Europe puts the event in context
    Read More
  • Freight poses growing problem for city authorities
    March 3, 2017
    Wes Guckert considers possible solutions and countermeasures to the problems of increased freight deliveries in growing cities. In January 2016, the US Department of Transportation (USDoT) conducted a session on the SmartCity Challenge and Urban Freight and Logistics. This session was a follow-up to the USDoT report titled, Beyond Traffic 2045.
    Read More
  • The benefits of combining enforcement and traffic management
    February 27, 2013
    Jason Barnes considers how combining enforcement equipment with other traffic management technologies might benefit our future – if only the will were really in place to do so. During the ITS World Congress in Vienna in October last year, Navtech Radar and Vysion­ics ITS announced a strategic partnership that would combine the expertise of Navtech in millimetre-wave wide-area surveillance technology with Vysionics’ machine vision-based automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and average speed measurement
    Read More

Highlighted Content