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Oct 26, 2009 5:45 pm US/Eastern
Free Program Helps Texting Drivers Stay Safe
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Research In Motion (RIM) displays the Qwerty Blackberry smartphone at a product launch in Mumbai. The BlackBerry Curve smartphone incorporates all multimedia functions, a spell checker and enhanced voice communication.
PAL PILLAI/AFP/Getty Images
Like many, Jack Martin was a distracted driver who would look down at his cell phone instead of focusing on the road.
"You're not thinking about safety, you're thinking being about being effective in your job," he said.
For some, looking down at their phone was the last thing they did. The federal government says last year, 6,000 people were killed and 500,000 were injured using their phones.
"A little bit over a year ago, I was headed to work one morning and I got a text and I looked down and I looked up and hit a 9-year-old boy on his bike," Matt Howard, a software entrepreneur, said.
The boy lived, but for Howard, it changed everything.
"I thought to myself there has to be a better way for me to make decisions when I'm driving," he said.
So Howard came up with "
ZoomSafer."
The program is free and works on smart phones that have GPS.
Here's how it works: When your phone is traveling 10 mph, the keyboard shuts down so you can't text.
But what if you get a call?
"The service will send a reply on your behalf letting the person know that you're currently driving and focused on the road and that you'll get back to them when you reach your destination safely," explains Howard.
"The behavior modification is simply understanding that I'm not as good a driver when I have my cell phone operating," explains Martin.
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