Skip to main content

eBrake to stop distracted driving

Canadian company eBrake Technologies says its smartphone app is unlike any other as it automatically locks the device on which it is installed every time it detects vehicle-related motion. The company has just launched a pilot program with Canadian mobile network provider Telus. Once installed on either an Android and iOS smartphone, the eBrake app automatically blocks incoming notifications whenever motion is detected (by all modes from bicycle to airplane) without the need for in-vehicle hardware.
September 7, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Canadian company eBrake Technologies says its smartphone app is unlike any other as it automatically locks the device on which it is installed every time it detects vehicle-related motion. The company has just launched a pilot program with Canadian mobile network provider Telus.

Once installed on either an 1812 Android and iOS smartphone, the eBrake app automatically blocks incoming notifications whenever motion is detected (by all modes from bicycle to airplane) without the need for in-vehicle hardware. The App cannot be deactivated but passengers can unlock their device by completing the Passenger Unlock Test which, the company says, takes less than 10 seconds but cannot be completed by a driver while driving.

Approved in-vehicle communications and entertainment systems are unaffected so a driver can safely and legally use functions such as maps, music and other features using voice activated programs like 1691 Google Assistant and Siri, or by entering a destination or selecting a playlist prior to setting off in the vehicle.

One-touch, automatic emergency calling to 911 remains available to drivers at all times.

Related Content

  • August 29, 2019
    Don’t drive drunk – or use a hands-free phone
    Despite law changes, drivers’ bad habits have been creeping back in. TRL’s Dr Shaun Helman tells Adam Hill why using a phone at the wheel is just as distracting as driving after a few drinks esearch from as far back as 2002 (see box) suggests that driving while making a phone call – either hands-free or holding a handset to your ear – creates the same amount of distraction as being drunk behind the wheel. While it is notoriously hard to predict how alcohol will affect an individual (due to the speed of
  • September 4, 2018
    Getting to the point
    Cars are starting to learn to understand the language of pointing – something that our closest relative, the chimpanzee, cannot do. And such image recognition technology has profound mobility implications, says Nils Lenke Pointing at objects – be it with language, using gaze, gestures or eyes only – is a very human ability. However, recent advances in technology have enabled smart, multimodal assistants - including those found in cars - to action similar pointing capabilities and replicate these human qual
  • June 6, 2014
    App informs drivers of delays during Long Beach bridge replacement
    David Crawford previews a work zone travel breakthrough. In February 2014, the Port of Long Beach in California launched what it claims is a groundbreaking construction zone navigation aid - LB Bridge mobile app. The app is designed to help drivers during the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement programme by keeping them up to date on activity and the ensuing traffic diversions when construction starts in summer 2014. The unusually content-rich app is designed to convey current project news (enlivened by phot
  • August 29, 2019
    Tech advances create MaaS without compromise
    Advances in technology make it possible for authorities to compile and maintain MaaS platforms cheaply - and without relinquishing control to third parties. Colin Sowman finds out more… It is increasingly clear that local authorities’ reluctance to implement Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is based on politics and finance. However, the technology underpinning MaaS is evolving rapidly and is presenting new solutions. At its heart, the political resistance comes down to the divide between the ethos of public