Cell phone is Automatically Disabled While Driving; Incoming Calls Go On to Voice Mail; Those Sending Text Messages Receive Auto Response; Distracting Alerts are Silenced
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), September 12, 2011 – Parents worry when their teenager is behind the wheel of a car. Sprint (NYSE: S) helps ease the minds of oldsters by launching Sprint Drive First, a brand new application that automatically locks a cell phone when a car is moving greater than 10 mph, disabling phone functionality, directing incoming calls to voice mail, and silencing distracting alerts for emails and text messages.
In keeping with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 20 percent of damage crashes in 2009 involved reports of distracted driving. Of these killed in distracted-driving-related crashes, 995 involved reports of a cellular phone as a distraction (18 percent of fatalities in distraction-related crashes). The age group with the best proportion of distracted drivers was the under-20 age group – 16 percent of all drivers younger than 20 concerned about fatal crashes were reported to was distracted while driving. (NHTSA)
The right way to Get Sprint Drive First
Sprint Drive First, powered by Location Labs, is now available on all Sprint CDMA Android™-powered smartphones for $2 monthly per phone and should be offered on BlackBerry® devices and other operating systems in coming months. Parents start by registering for an account at www.sprint.com/drivefirst. In this website, they are going to see a listing of phones on their account, select the phones to which they wish so as to add the app, and they’ll receive detailed instructions on learn how to get the app. For phones already available in the market, a software download is needed to activate the service.* All Sprint Android-powered smartphones launching after late Q3 can have the Sprint Drive First software preinstalled and won’t require a download to activate the service.
Information about Sprint Drive First
Shortly after the auto exceeds 10 mph – determined using GPS and cell tower triangulation – the cell phone might be locked. If the motive force is using the telephone when Sprint Drive First engages, the decision will end and the telephone lock screen will appear. Anyone texting the driving force will receive an automatic message indicating the individual they texted is driving. The message is customizable by the account holder.
A locked device displays a house screen with exit and emergency 911 buttons to override the app. Sprint Drive First may be overridden if the user is a passenger in a car, on a bus or train, however the parent or account holder can prefer to receive notifications when the service is overridden.
Parents have a call of programming as much as five phone numbers to ring through when the telephone is locked in addition allowing functionality of 3 apps, reminiscent of navigation, music or weather.
When the applying not detects movement it unlocks and whole device functionality resumes. Sprint Drive First takes into consideration stop-and-go traffic, so the motive force has to be sitting idle for a couple of minutes before it should unlock.
Sprint’s Distracted Driving Initiatives
“Sprint Drive First is another action Sprint is taking to encourage its customers to apply their phones responsibly behind the wheel,” said David Owens, vice chairman-Product Development, Sprint. “We wish to help our customers arrive at their destination. Texting while driving makes drivers four times prone to crash their car. The man you wish to call or text could be there whenever you get done along with your drive; we wish to just remember to are, too.”
“Location Lab’s goal is to empower today’s parents with the tools they must better protect their families,” said Tasso Roumeliotis, CEO of Location Labs. “Our collaboration with Sprint not just addresses distracted driving but makes the Drive First technology widely accessible, offering Sprint subscribers an ideal way to realize peace of mind when their household are at the go.”
Since 2005 Sprint has worked on behalf of its customers and employees at the issue of distracted driving – including sponsoring national and native driver safety programs for youths and adults; releasing a distracted driving pledge for Sprint customers and employees; and developing a strong portfolio of distracted driving mobile applications and resources for general and business consumers.
Additional info on Sprint’s distracted driving efforts are located at sprint.com/focusondriving.
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