Distracted driving was to blame in the deaths of three teenage boys this month on an interstate near Hudson, Wis. That news story, and thousands of others like it, takes Kate Reschenberg's breath away.
Especially because her 16-year old son, Jack, is set to get his driver's license next month.
"It's a nerve-racking feeling," the Plymouth woman said. "Their lives could be over in an instant ... you can't always be in the car with them, but you want to do as much as you can to protect them."
Reschenberg hopes a new mobile app designed by a local company will reduce the distractions her son will face as a new driver. Minneapolis-based Drive Power recently launched DriveScribe (www.drivescribe.com) to encourage safe driving habits, particularly among teenagers, and provide real-time coaching to novice drivers.
In the car, DriveScribe screens the driver's performance, tracking speed, sudden movements and compliance with traffic regulations. The app's GPS technology can't actually tell if drivers run red lights, but can determine if they run through stop signs. While driving in the city, users mostly receive speed limit reminders and heads-up on upcoming stop signs.
If drivers speed, the app, which employs a woman's voice, asks them to slow down. When traffic violations occur, parents are notified in real time via e-mail or text alerts.
DriveScribe also has the ability to block text messages, incoming calls and e-mails while the user is in the car. Anyone trying to reach the driver will be notified by a personalized message that the user is driving.
All information gathered during a trip is loaded onto the DriveScribe website, where users can log in to view their own driving performance or, in the case of parents, track how the person they are monitoring performed.
