Esure develops app in response to TRL research

Date: 24/8/2012

A car insurance firm in the UK has developed an app in response to research carried out by TRL, which suggests that smartphones represent a risk of distraction to drivers.

Esure has created the app, which is called DriveOFF, to be able to automatically switch off any audible and visible notifications on the phone once a car is driving faster than ten miles per hour.

This means that the driver will not be alerted to any new messages until they stop and are able to deal with them safely and when the car is stationary.

It is illegal to use mobile phone handsets while driving, but a fifth of drivers confess to doing so, while 84 per cent admit to using a gadget while the car is in motion, whether it  be a phone, MP3 player or satellite navigation tool.

This highlights the important of tackling the issue, as modern technology acts as too much of a temptation for those behind the wheel.

The study carried out by TRL found that reaction times are greatly decreased when a driver is texting while driving.

Typically it takes a driver 23 per cent longer to react to a hazard while texting than when their attention is fully on the road.

That equates to driving blindfolded nearly ten metres at the speeds a car would go on a motorway, which can have a serious effect of other road users, including pedestrians.

Stuart Vann, Chief Executive Officer at Esure, "These findings are a real concern - so many drivers are putting themselves, their passengers and other road users at risk by simply having a ringing, beeping, flashing mobile in the car - even if they don't answer it."

Due to the wide range of things a person can do on a smartphone, some drivers update their social media statuses while on the road, which was found to cause them to drift into other lines or drive too close to the car in front.

Posted by Mary Treen

Transport News, Transport Consulting News and TRL Ltd