5 Safe Driving Apps and Tools to Minimize Distractions
In today’s world, it’s easy to get distracted while driving, especially if your phone is near. Use these safe driving apps and tools to minimize distractions on the road.
With modern technology, we have countless ways to stay connected in the palms of our hands. While this helps us communicate with our friends and loved ones, it can be a distraction while driving.
In 2019 alone, 3,142 people died due to texting and driving and many other injuries and crashes occurred. To reduce distractions behind the wheel, try these safe driving apps and tools. Some even pay you to put down your phone while driving!
Distracted Driving Statistics
Distracted driving involves more than texting. Distractions can be created by eating while you’re driving, trying to find the right channel on your radio dial, or turning around to tell the kids in the backseat to stop arguing. Cell phone use involves three distractions: manual, visual and cognitive.
- A study by Carnegie Mellon showed that just listening to a cell phone hands-free reduced the amount of brain activity associated with driving (in the parietal lobe) by 37%.
- If you’re going 55 miles per hour and take your eyes off the road for 5 seconds—the amount of time it typically takes to read or send a text message—you’ll have driven far enough to cover the length of a football field.
- In a NHSTA study, 15% of crashes leading to injury and 14% of all motor vehicle crashes reported by police in 2018 involved distracted driving.
- That same year, 5% of drivers in fatal crashes
1. Drivemode Dash
Drivemode Dash silences calls, texts, and alerts from your phone once you hit 15 miles per hour, and can send out autoreplies in real-time. It’s free (although it contains ads), and parents with teenage drivers in the family can program it to notify them when the app is deactivated.
2. OnMyWay
OnMayWay auto-disables text and app alerts when you’re driving faster than 10 mph, but you can still answer calls if your phone is hooked up to your car’s Bluetooth. Apps such as Google Maps and Spotify will still work as long as they’re activated before you head out on the road or while you’re stopped. According to the company, the app and its users prevented more than 23,500 crashes and saved over 150 lives in its first 14 months of use “with a mathematical certainty.”
3. SAFE 2 SAVE
SAFE 2 SAVE uses an incentive program to encourage drivers not to text while driving. You earn two points for every minute of safe driving over 10 mph, then click on icons to redeem those points at your favorite businesses. You can even get competitive by setting up games with friends, family members, or co-workers to determine who’s the safest driver.
4. TrueMotion Family Safe Driving
TrueMotion doesn’t deactivate your phone when you’re driving. Instead, it relies on giving you feedback about how you’re doing via a rating scale. It also can tell you the exact times when you might have been driving distracted.
5. I’m Driving
I’m Driving lets you know who on your contact list is driving, so you can avoid texting them. However, the user must let others know they’re driving by starting and stopping a button on the pap.
