Jun 25, 2009

Bothered by Texts on the Road?

With more and more drivers texting, emailing, tweeting and facebooking, our highways are becoming increasingly dangerous. The proliferation of mobile phones, all-you-can-use text and data plans and an insatiable appetite to always feel connected has resulted in a very costly and potentially dangerous epidemic. You could call it “death by social media.” But it doesn’t have to be that way, and one company is trying to change things.

“I found myself sending texts while driving and making bad decisions behind the wheel,” explained Matt Howard, CMO and co-founder of ZoomSafer. “I was looking for a mobile software application that would help me focus on the road but still keep me connected to my family, business contacts and social networks. After months of research, I couldn’t find a solution, so I got together with Mike [Costello], and we decided to build ZoomSafer.”

Different from legislative and big-brother-like approaches to the device-related distracted-driving problem, ZoomSafer contextually integrates with a person’s social and communications networks, allowing individuals to drive safer but still be connected to friends, family and co-workers. Not only does the new software remind you to drive safely, it automatically notifies others when you’re driving. The result is that you can be more focused when driving, and your friends are less likely to distract you with random texts or email messages when you’re at the wheel.

The beta version of ZoomSafer will be free to download beginning in August. Premium versions of ZoomSafer will be available via paid subscriptions. The company says its patent-pending solution is a mash-up of location services, call management services, social media and voice services. We tend to believe them.