Chevy Calls Out Distracted Drivers
General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet unit is launching a smartphone app to help remind drivers not to pick up their phones while driving.
General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet unit is launching a smartphone app to help remind drivers not to pick up their phones while driving.
The “Call Me Out” app uses a phone's accelerometer and GPS to detect when it is physically picked up while traveling faster than 5 mph. The system plays personalized messages—along with a graphic of a wagging finger—recorded by friends or family telling drivers to put their phones down and pay attention to driving.
There's also a scoreboard and national rankings based on how often a person handles their phone while driving. The app is available for free from the Google Play store for Android devices.
The idea for the app came from a “hackathon” event Chevrolet hosted in October 2016 at Wayne State University in Detroit. Chevy says the system can be used in any vehicle, including competing makes and models.
An estimated 481,000 Americans use their phones while driving during daylight hours, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency says there were 3,450 fatalities related to distracted driving (including cell phones and other diversions) in the U.S. in 2016.RELATED CONTENT
-
On Electric Pickups, Flying Taxis, and Auto Industry Transformation
Ford goes for vertical integration, DENSO and Honeywell take to the skies, how suppliers feel about their customers, how vehicle customers feel about shopping, and insights from a software exec
-
Multiple Choices for Light, High-Performance Chassis
How carbon fiber is utilized is as different as the vehicles on which it is used. From full carbon tubs to partial panels to welded steel tube sandwich structures, the only limitation is imagination.
-
GM Seeks to Avert U.S. Plant Shutdowns Linked to Supplier Bankruptcy
General Motors Co. says it hopes to claim equipment and inventory from a bankrupt interior trim supplier to avoid being forced to idle all 19 of its U.S. assembly plants.