www.idrivefocused.com

We're Moving!

Eleanor J — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:59:30 +0000

ZoomSafer has experienced some super-exciting changes recently. We just launched a revamped website - and as part of this update, we also launched a brand-new safe driving blog. We'll continue to bring you fresh and interesting news and tips on safe driving for you and your family, and hope you'll visit us at our new home.

Check out the latest stories available on ZoomSafer's safe driving blog:

Teens Driving Distracted Continues, Despite Risks

Mike H — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:23:18 +0000

A recent USA Today article discussed an online survey of teenage drivers by Seventeen Magazine shows that despite awareness of the risks involved, almost 9 out of 10 teens still engage in some form of distracted driving. This is hardly surprising, given the old adage that young adults feel invincible, and always believe that tragedy will happen to someone else. But cliches like that don't stand the test of time unless there is at least some truth behind it. In this case, I think this survey is as strong a body of evidence as any that teenagers, while abstractly understanding the risks involved, have yet to fully process and accept them. And they certainly haven't changed their behavior.

Perhaps the most tragic sentence in this entire article was the statement that the driver in the crash now "only texts when she's at red lights." While this assertion goes unchallenged by the USA Today writer, the reality is that this is far from an adequate solution! Driving experts have warned of texting at red lights, as it often leads to the driver accelerating before actually looking up or taking in the situation on the road in front of them - pedestrians, red light runners, or other obstacles are often not fully processed before the accelerator is hit.

Survey after survey, study after study has proved a simple point: teens will not put down their phones voluntarily until it's too late. And in the case of the story in this article, it seems some will continue even after a crash. Education is necessary, but is clearly not enough. It's time we prevent distracted driving in a manner that is enforceable. And it's time we led by example

Must Watch: Frightening Video of Distracted Driving Caught on Tape

Sam D — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:59:03 +0000

We can read all the data and numbers we can process and know that distracted driving is a terrible problem, but sometimes facts and figures just don't hit home. Not like this video does:

Did your heart sink? Did you tense up? Imagine how you would feel if you were that driver. Imagine how you would feel if the driver was one of your children. Here's to hoping we never know how that feels.

Don't end up in a video like this.

In Washington, a Continued Commitment to Fight Distracted Driving

Eleanor J — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:46:44 +0000

July has been a momentous month in the fight to prevent distracted driving. Earlier this month, the Seward Group made headlines and earned the ire of Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood when plans to form a lobbying group called the DRIVE (Drivers for Responsible, Innovation and Vehicle Education) Coalition leaked. The lobbying firm scrapped that idea after Sec. LaHood put it on blast in a press conference on July 7, saying Seward's proposal to galvanize the telecom industry into blocking federal regulations against in-vehicle technologies "jeopardizes the progress we've made by undermining our message about public safety".

And earlier this week, Sec. LaHood reaffirmed his commitment to fighting diststracted driving, announcing plans for a second National Distracted Driving Summit to be held September 21. On his official blog, Fastlane, Sec. LaHood explained why he's convening a second summit to address the problem:

"[We're] gathering transportation officials, safety advocates, law enforcement, industry representatives, researchers, and people affected by distraction-related crashes. We're going to put our heads together, and we're going to share the latest research, technology, policy, public outreach, and enforcement practices.

And when we're done with the summit, we're going to continue working to put an end to the thousands of needless deaths and injuries caused by distracted driving each year."

Distracted driving is a complex behavior problem whose consequences create serious challenges for road safety - and that's why a true solution needs to be similarly complex. 30 states have banned texting while driving (and every state has reckeless driving statutes on the books), and those laws are important first steps to changing social mores. But legislation alone will not eradicate distracted driving. Without effective enforcement, laws are meaningless. More, without education and outreach efforts, those laws are vulnerable to criticism that they represent an overreach by the state. Generating awareness of distracted driving's true dangers and the problems distracted habits pose for drivers is crucial to changing people's behavior for good. Technology is the third key piece to the puzzle. Innovations in technology encourage safe, legal, and responsible habits behind the wheel. Whether you're in Washington, D.C., Alaska, or Iowa - wherever you are - more informed drivers mean more focused drivers...And that means safer roads across the U.S.A.

Ford SYNC's "Do Not Disturb" Feature has a Fatal Flaw

Mike H — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:56:47 +0000

Yesterday, just as ZoomSafer was releasing our new Bluetooth Beta software, there was other news in the world about distracted driving and Bluetooth car kits; Ford announced that the next release of their Ford SYNC car kit will have a "Do Not Disturb" button which, when pressed, will block all incoming calls, text messages, typing on the keypad and will narrow some other features like navigation. To which my first response would have to be... "wait, the Ford SYNC software has features that call for a driver to be typing on a keypad?!"

That point aside, this is a pretty obvious example of Ford attempting to respond to public pressure against distracted driving by releasing a feature that seems to at least take a step in the right direction towards making our roads safer. And it IS a step in the right direction, don't get me wrong. It's obviously much better than the lobbying industry's response to the rising anti-distracted driving sentiment anyway.

But there's a serious flaw here, and its what reduces this new feature from what could have been a real step forward in the fight to prevent distracted driving, to more of a PR stunt to get some friendly media coverage. I've written before about the evidence that drivers won't voluntarily stop texting while driving, and unfortunately this "Do Not Disturb" feature does nothing to address that; it still depends on the user "opting in."

The truth is, that will rarely happen. This feature has no enforcement mechanism for drivers who might not WANT to put it in "Do Not Disturb" mode, like teenagers - no way to ensure that they press that button and no way to check later to see if they didn't. And even those drivers with personal motivations of social responsibility are actually given a barrier between them and their good intentions: they have to remember to press that button or else by default they'll get all their texts, emails and calls.

ZoomSafer is a much stronger solution - teenagers and reluctant drivers can be forced to be safe, while those who want to help themselves don't have to worry about activating the software manually, as it's automatic. And with our new Bluetooth Beta that can activate off a connection with Bluetooth car kits like Ford SYNC itself, we're excited to be taking the lead to enforce and automate the safe-driving policies of our customers. I applaud Ford for their awareness of the problem, but with the release of this still a year off and lacking automation, they have a long way to go towards really addressing the issue.

Smarter Phones and Smarter Vehicles Can Mean Smarter Policy

Mike H — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:54:54 +0000

A new study by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company reveals interesting data about the proliferation of Bluetooth car kits in American vehicles. When this new information is considered in conjunction with the increasing penetration of smartphones in the mobile market, we can see opportunities for innovation and collaboration for both industries.

The Nationwide survey (especially slide 7) shows that 13% of their respondents owned vehicles with the capability to make a phone call built-in. If you add in the unknown number of vehicles with after-market Bluetooth kits installed by their owners, it's clear that these technologies are gaining real traction in the US market. Meanwhile smartphones are spreading through the US at a remarkable rate, with some (possibly ambitious) estimates predicting 50% penetration as soon as the end of 2011.

As we open up our new Bluetooth trigger to a public beta today at Zoomsafer, we are proud to be on the leading edge of creating new innovative ways to combine these technologies. Smarter phones combined with smarter vehicles can make smarter policy implementation a realistic possibility for parents and employers trying to prevent distracted driving.

See, up until this point Bluetooth kits have been used almost exclusively for making hands-free phone calls. This makes sense because until just a few years ago, phone calls were the only thing that most mobile devices were used for. Yet as feature phones have been increasingly traded in for smartphones, the mobile market has undergone two drastic but related changes: 1) The range of functions these mobile devices can perform has seen incredible growth as manufacturers increase computing power and developers invent new and innovative programs to build on top of these platforms. And 2) the ways people use their phones have expanded rapidly as texting, emailing, web browsing and app usage has soared.

These two changes in the mobile landscape call for a new look at the possibilities offered by interaction between mobile devices and the increasingly common Bluetooth car kits. Instead of simply allowing a user to make a hands-free call, we should be looking at this technology as a much larger leap forward: it allows our vehicles to connect and communicate with other pieces of technology. This creates a wide range of possibilities for policy implementation and management: no longer are our vehicles big, metal hunks of machine. Now they can communicate with the handheld computers that so many of us carry all the time, and can provide data and information when we drive.

As these two technologies continue to converge and spread to more consumers, developers will begin to realize that Bluetooth kits can be so much more than just tools for hands-free calls. It will be fascinating to see the many new ideas that will begin to enter the market.

Don't Stop Legislation; Embrace Innovation

Sam D — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:55:52 +0000

A new group of car makers, wireless companies and safety advocates have formed the DRIVE Coaliton, with aims to counter the recent rise in distracted driving legislation.

According to an internal document, DRIVE claims that efforts to prevent distracted driving have morphed into a “benign debate” that has been “hijacked” by legislators and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey. They are set to argue that driver education is key and that strict state and federal restrictions will aversely effect innovation, even going so far as to name auto, tech and insurance companies as “collateral damage” in this fight.

While DRIVE’s stance on increasing driver education is a noble one, their assertion that legislation hurts their respective industries seems a bit misguided. What is hurting their industry is the vast and expanding number of deaths caused by distracted driving each year. The solution should not be to fight legislation, but innovate and provide new ways for people to interact with their devices in a safe way.

We are starting to see such innovation happening. ZoomSafer provides the ability to suppress calls and texts with the added benefit of voice-powered text and emails. The upcoming DROID X from Motorola features a driving mode that will automatically activate when one puts it into a car dock. Ford has rolled out SYNC, which incorporates voice activation into their vehicles.

These are all solutions that not only address the problem but also encourage innovation and increase productivity for business and individuals. DRIVE can complain all they want but the legislation is coming, rightly so. If they don’t find ways to comply with these laws, like most of their consumers are doing, they may find themselves left behind.

The Most Deadly Driving Day in America: July 4

Mike H — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:36:30 +0000

As we approach this July 4 weekend, of course we're all looking forward to the BBQs, fireworks, parades and everything else that goes along with one of the most quintessential summer holidays. But statistics show that there's something else that goes along with Independence day - fatal car accidents. The Detroit Burea has an excellent article about this phenomenon and the overall approach that the US takes towards highway safety. They quote Adrian Lund, President of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, who asks "Why do we tolerate so many highway deaths?" Lund points out that the government took swift and sweeping action to address the statistically tiny dangers of Toyota's stuck accelerators, while obvious and widespread dangers as simple as speeding go largely unchecked.

Distracted driving gets a mention in the article and Lund argues that the laws being passed are not working. I wonder if they're not working because, as the article argues, distracted driving is just low-hanging fruit for legislators looking to attack an easy but relatively unimportant problem. Or are they not working because no one adheres to them and they're difficult to enforce? Can mobile software like ZoomSafer help to prevent distracted driving better than the laws?

These discussion will certainly continue for a long time, but in the short term lets all make sure to keep our (SOBER) eyes on the road and our hands on the wheel this July 4 and hope those driving around us do as well!

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition - or an alligator on the freeway.

Eleanor J — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:27:20 +0000

I found this PowerPoint presentation while cruising SlideShare and thought I'd share. It's an...interesting way to hammer home an essential point on road safety: expect the unexpected. Check it out:

Safety Safety Driving

View more presentations from Hussmu.

These vehicles look like they were sent up to the great automobile dealership in the sky via a wrecking yard manned by a compactor operator with some serious anger management issues. Hopefully, the images won't distract you too much from the quite sage advice the presenter offers. Here are some winners:

Expect others' mistakes
Be alert to changing conditions
Get the big picture

It is crucial to always be on alert for unexpected obstacles when driving. These range from the obvious - the car in front of you - to less frequent and/or seasonal hazards. Here in northern Virginia, for example, I contend with near-invisible black ice in the winter and magnificent, "Oh my gosh the sky is green" thunderstorms in the summer. Each of these disparate weather conditions make driving safely substantially more difficult. Likewise, the natives tend to get more restless at different times of the yea. Here, we get deer, while points north like Vermont contend with moose. Down in Florida, it's reptiles, not mammals, who gum things up - wayward alligators occasionally stop traffic.

Hazards in the roadway range from the mundane to the bizarre- such as the thousands of lemons that blocked a California highway last week. It's important to maintain a large 'space cushion' and to continuously scan your surrounds. The California DMV even recommends checking your mirrors every two to five seconds, which sounds a bit excessive to me - if you're constantly looking behind you, you're not watching where you're going. Maybe it's spot-on - after all, Californians have to watch out for rogue lemons all over their roadways...Whether you have large land mammals, unexpected fruit, or just garden-variety people, being an observant driver protects you when you're behind the wheel. I've got Harry Potter on the brain due to yesterday's release of the trailer for HP and the Deathly Hallows, so I'll leave you with this thought: "Constant vigilance!"

The Newest, Greatest Job: Designated Texter

Sam D — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:45:01 +0000

AAA has put out a video featuring some very good advice about the positive and negative effects passengers can have on one’s distracted driving behaviours.

My personal favorite point they bring up is the “designated texter,” one who takes hold of your phone and sends out the texts as you dictate. It does fill one with an air of self-importance: choosing your words ever so carefully as your personal secretary twiddles their thumbs, trying to catch every phrase flowing effortlessly from your lips…usually something like “Not 2 much goin on. U?” Poetry.

The benefits of the designated texter don’t stop there. They can navigate for you. Find change as you approach a tollbooth. Switch the songs playing on your iPod, though it is admittedly hard to give up control over the music playing in one’s car. They usually find the one album you never listen to. Then there is always the dreaded moment when the passenger pulls out their OWN iPod. Suddenly, you feel like a stranger in your own car.

But, in the end, we deal with it because we know it makes us safer and we have multiple lives to protect. This is something I do not think the AAA video addresses. Sometimes problems can arise when we have no passenger, no designated texter, to help us out.

In these situations we need to find a replacement for the person riding shotgun. What can substitute for a designated texter? Your own abstinence and self-restraint? Setting your iPod to shuffle? A software to prevent distracted driving?

Find something to replace your designated texter, and you'll never drive alone.

Maybe ZoomSafer Version 3.0 Will Address This Problem...

Mike H — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:22:48 +0000

At Zoomsafer we really do try to address all the possible situations in which distracted driving could be a problem, but our software is definitely not yet ready for Patricia Edwards of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In a 3-2 decision yesterday (really?! what were the 2 thinking?) the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled that a police office had acted appropriately when he seized the fifteen cats that she had in her car as she was driving. The cats were sent to a humane society for adoption, and Edwards was sent on her way with fifteen fewer distractions to prevent her from focusing on the road.

It's Easy to Bemoan the Degradation of the Youth; It's Hard to Have the Self Control to be a Safe Driver

Mike H — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 21:57:48 +0000

The last few days have seen a lot of media attention about the new study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project which found adults to be even worse distracted drivers than the teens they so often express concern about. Sam has already put up a couple different posts even on this blog discussing some of the findings of the study but the basic gist of it is that about half of the adults surveyed say they have sent or read texts while driving. That’s pretty shocking news to a lot of people.

See, the paradigm thus far has been a pretty standard one that’s been around literally for decades and probably longer: “kids these days... think they’re invincible... no respect for others...” and you can fill in the ‘dot-dot-dots’ with any number of social issues. If only we could make those darn kids see the light, we’d all be safer and better off.

Of course in many ways this attitude would seem to make sense in the context of distracted driving: texting is extremely popular among teenagers and I would actually agree with the general consensus among adults that most young people don’t even think texting while driving is a problem. The last Pew study about distracted driving among teens had plenty of quotes that made it all too obvious that many don’t see what the big deal is. Meanwhile nine out of ten adults believe that texting and emailing while driving is dangerous and distracting. But what's the use if we now find out that they’ve all been doing it anyway!

I think this makes one thing all too clear: very few people – adults or teens – are going to stop texting while driving on their own. The “why” behind this can be debated and attributed to a risk-tolerant society or today’s demand to always stay connected or even chemical addiction in the brain (though note the linked article is again looking only at teens). The point is that simply raising awareness and education about this issue is not going to be enough – because even those drivers who understand how dangerous it is continue to text while driving.

This is the problem that we’ve set out to address from the beginning at Zoomsafer; we always begin talking about our product by saying two things: 1) There’s an increasing problem of drivers texting and emailing and using their phones while behind the wheel and 2) People cannot and will not stop this on their own. Software like our application can step in and force us all to prevent distracted driving when our own self-control is not enough.

It’s good news that this Pew study has finally blown the cover off the myth that adults are less likely to text while driving because they better understand its dangers. I hope this will lead more adults to take steps to force themselves to protect the safety of themselves, their loved ones and everyone around them on the road. Oh and yes, even those darn kids.

Do You Walk Distracted?

Sam D — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:07:01 +0000

The Pew Research Center has found that 17 percent of adults have been so distracted by texting or talking on their phones that they bumped into another person or object while walking.

While this texting-while-walking phenomenon may not have the devastating effects of distracted driving, it still demonstrates our inability to put the phone down.

So how about it? How many distracted walkers to we have out their? What have you bumped into recently?

OFFICIAL: Adults Engage in Distracted Driving More Than Teens

Sam D — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:18:37 +0000

A new Pew Research Center survey found that 61% of adults have made calls on their cell phone while driving. Compare that with 43% of 16- and 17-year-olds and it seems to be the parents who are engaging in more unsafe activity behind the wheel. This clearly disproves the myth that distracted driving is a teen issue.

But does this mean that teens are less likely to cause harm with their behaviors? Absolutely not. A Virginia Tech study in 2009 found that teens are four times more likely to get into a car accident or near crash event than adults. The study relates this number to a higher likeliness for teens to engage in cell phone use in riskier situations. That, coupled with basic driving inexperience, make texting-while-driving a very troubling phenomenon for teen drivers.

What both of these studies show is that distracted driving is not an issue particular to any one group of people. As cell phone use rises, so do the statistics. In order to prevent distracting driving, we all need to take a look at our driving behaviors and consider how we will manage them regardless of age.

New GHSA Report: States Wage Multi-Front War on Distracted Driving

Eleanor J — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:32:33 +0000

On Tuesday, the Governors Highway Safety Association issued a new report it terms the first comprehensive overview of states' efforts to prevent distracted driving. A GHSA press release on the report, "Curbing Distracted Driving: 2010 Survey of State Safety Programs," revealed seven key findings:

Distracted driving has emerged as a priority for state highway safety agencies
States have improved data collection efforts
States are educating new drivers about distraction
States have been passing a variety of distracted driving laws
States are emphasizing public education
Public/private partnerships are increasing
States are using new technology to educate motorists

The report surveyed highway safety agencies from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam.

Despite these many programs and activities tackling distracted driving, GHSA acknowledges that the fight is far from over. In the release, GHSA Chairman Vernon F. Betkey, Jr. called for states to continue their efforts to create a comprehensive solution to the probelm of distracted driving. Betkey said, "We know from our experiences with drunk driving and seat belt use that there is no magic bullet, and the same holds true with distracted driving."

Distracted driving is a complicated behavioral issue and its solution must be similarly complex. This new report shows that many states are already implementing a multi-faceted approach to tackling distracted driving, combining legislation with awareness initiatives and new technology. Eight states have instituted bans on texting while driving since November 2009, bringing the total number of states with such laws in place to 28. Additionally, many state DOTs are following Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's example (@RayLaHood) and getting their own Twitter accounts, part of the "growing reliance on new media" the GHSA report observed as a trend in states' treatment of distracted driving prevention. Clearly, laws alone will not stop drivers determined to text while behind the wheel.