DriveSafe.ly App Stops 25 Million Potential Texting While Driving & Distracted Driving Incidents
Written by DriveSafe.ly
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Newark, N.J. (November 19, 2009) - DriveSafe.ly, the free mobile app aiming to stop distracted driving,
launched seven weeks ago and has been used by over one million people.
The app is reading millions of
text messages (SMS) aloud per week to drivers around the world- keeping their eyes on the road.
"If your software [DriveSafe.ly] had been available in 2007, maybe my husband, Chuck would still be
here with me, and the texter would have made his ice hockey practice" says Weida Stoecker about
DriveSafe.ly. Stoecker lost her husband in a car accident caused by a teenager texting while driving. She
continues, "I think our phone manufacturers and providers should require that DriveSafe.ly be preprogrammed
on to all new phones effective immediately."
DriveSafe.ly, which was just yesterday nominated for the prestigious 2009 Mashable Open Web Award
for Best Mobile App, reads text messages and emails in real-time without any action from the user. The
latest version features a `Speed Activated' feature which turns the app on automatically when driving
and off when exiting the vehicle, making it truly hands-free and easy for drivers.
"DriveSafe.ly is taking off because people want to stay connected while they drive, and do it in a safe
way" says Heath Ahrens, CEO of iSpeech and creator of DriveSafe.ly. "I recommend that everyone install
DriveSafe.ly, not because I work for the company behind it, but because I actually use it and it stops
texting while driving."
About DriveSafe.ly
The unprecedented DriveSafe.ly app reads text messages and emails aloud in real-time and
automatically responds without users touching their mobile phone. Developed by iSpeech.org founder,
Heath Ahrens, DriveSafe.ly utilizes iSpeech.org text to speech software as a service (SaaS) in hopes of
eliminating the danger created by the growing number of Americans who text while they drive. For
more information or to download the app please visit www.DriveSafe.ly.
About Weida Stoecker
Weida Stoecker is a well respected spokesperson against texting while driving, speaking for the AAA
Safety Foundation on the Today Show, Maryland Transportation Dept, Maryland Highway Safety
Foundation and Stevenson University. Since her husband's untimely death caused by a texting teen
driver, she has put much of her time and energy in successfully advocating Maryland lawmakers to ban
texting while driving. Weida holds her masters degree in elementary education from George
Washington University and pursued a 30 year career in education, teaching special ed in the Baltimore
area.
Mobile Technology Feature - Top 10 Business Apps for Android - Android has become one of the most popular mobile operating systems
in the world due to advanced software, competitive manufacturers, and an
app market that is filled with exciting and useful applications. Read
on for this fine Top 10 List compiled by tech writer, Blake Sanders
The Really Big List of Mapping, Geo location Mobile developer resources, APIs and Tools - The Mobile Ecosystem... no question that mobile is huge and
the opportunity for developers, in particular, geo developers! There's
loads of developer resources on the web so to help the developer,
here's a listing of just some of the fine dev resources, blogs,
toolsets and more to consider when developing or porting your app to a
smartphone or Tablet.
ArcGIS.com Mashup Tutorial with Flickr and Foursquare data-
Here's a simple "how to" tutorial on working with the free ArcGIS.com
to easily import KML or RSS data from Flickr and foursquare into ArcGIS
to create your own custom map mashup. ArcGIS.com has some recent
updates including support for KML, be sure to check it out!
Most Users of Free Photo Apps Say Adding Cool Effects is Most Useful - Adding cool effects
to photos was rated as the most useful thing by more than halfof
consumers surveyed using free online photography services, according to
CatchFree a free
online service that helps people find the best free mobile and web applications
to perform useful tasks.
Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Up Close - No Replacement for the iPad But Pretty Darned Sweet - As could be
expected, speculation and blogging is rampant with many stories and
pseudo "reviews" coming out, many of them touting the next "iPad
killer".
Mobile Developer Resource - MapQuest & The Mobile Worker - Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing,
insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field
workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in
to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done
Flickr GPS Photo Tag Tip - Here's a tip for Flickr users who want to share their GPS information
with their photos. note, in order to do this you'll need to be
capturing photos using a GPS-enabled or GPS-aware camera (see you're
smartphone hardware settings to ensure that GPS or location sharing is
turned "ON)".
Mobile data usage in Canada to triple between 2010 and 2012 - Some interesting, yet not terribly surprising, numbers on mobile
usage coming out of Canada. According to a report summarized on
Techvibes, mobile usage is soaring, in particular, the smartphone
segment
Social Location Directory
Do you have a location-aware application, social location service or other location-sensitive service that you'd like to share with us? Please browse this growing directory of Social location Services and feel free to leave a link to your favorite service! See the Directory HERE
Suggested Reading
The Underground Guide To The iPhone:
The iPhone is – if I may say so – one of the greatest mobile
revolutions of the past decade. More and more, mobile phones seem to
materialize out of our wildest dreams. Because of the tight integration
of third-party applications, you can do nearly everything with your
device — be it gaming, working, fooling around, and of course phoning.
Good Mobile Messaging: Executives and professional field forces spend an increasing amount of time on the road tending to business.
Mobile Apps - Native or Web?:
You probably have a plan to build a mobile app, but you've struggled
with the basic question - Should I build it using open web standards
such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or should I build it as a native app
for the devices I want to target?
iBike Coach App- a new “Always On” feature always gathers data
Nike+ GPS App- for sports tracking, recording and sharing
Featured Events
Content & Apps for Automotive Europe 2012 (18-19 April, Germany)
will give you key insights on how in-vehicle connectivity is being
revolutionised as OEMs integrate dynamic content to stay relevant
throughout the vehicle life cycle.
Location Intelligence for Enterprise - Europe 2012, January 16-17, London Hear from Google, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tesco, Willis, Oracle,
ESRI, Microsoft, PBBI and many more as they debate the best strategies
for business models and integration.
Consumer Telematics Show 2012 (Jan 9, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, USA) is the most prestigious and
dynamic consumer telematics focused meeting for the automotive industry.
Held in Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
this year's senior-level speakers will include General Motors, Audi,
Toyota, Panasonic, Continental, Hughes Telematics, Gartner, KIA,
Mercedes-Benz and many more
Esri Dev Summit - The
Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) brings together developers and GIS
professionals from all over the globe. March 26-29, 2012, Palm Springs,
CA
