AT&T recently released an app called DriveMode that makes texting impossible while you’re driving.
How DriveMode works…
When enabled, the DriveMode app temporarily limits key features of your mobile device once you hit 25 mph. The app silences incoming calls, texts, and email alerts, thus eliminating the urge to read incoming messages while you drive.
Even better, the app will send a customizable auto-reply that says you’re driving and will respond later.
The designers of the app also realized that you still might need to use some of your phone’s features, so it allows you to access one music app and one navigation app. You can also call 911 at any time.
The AT&T DriveMode app is free for AT&T customers (and only $0.99 for Verizon users).
The dangers of distracted driving
In 2009 — in the U.S. alone — nearly 5,500 people were killed and an estimated 448,000 injured in crashes due to distracted driving.
Texting and driving is particularly dangerous because it causes visual, manual, and cognitive distraction. Though more states are passing laws to ban distracted driving, 27 percent of adults still admit to texting while driving — and those are just the ones willing to confess!
Take the pledge
Cool as it is, the DriveMode app only works if you’re willing to use it. So take the pledge to keep yourself and others safer on the road. Whether you download the app or simply ignore incoming calls and texts, adopt the mantra, “It can wait.”