iZup: What's Up in Preventing Distracted Driving

When driving on any road or highway, chances are pretty good that you will see a driver on a hand-held phone or, worse, scrolling through text messages. Traffic conditions do not matter; these people will do this in any type of traffic, rush hour, a snow storm, or thunderstorm. Once in the habit, it is hard to change this behavior; it becomes second nature. I know one young lady who says she talks on her cell phone, while driving, every day, simply because she is "bored". She says that she pulls her phone out of her purse, even before she leaves her driveway. Does this make sense to you? When driving, driver must be alert and expect the unexpected. Traffic, stoplights, stop signs, yield signs pedestrians (dart outs), animals (in Michigan, where I live, you never know what will cross the road – deer, raccoon, squirrel, groundhog, dogs, cats, etc.). What about on-coming or merging traffic? What about other distracted drivers?

An 18-year-old high school senior admits to texting while driving even though he has heard stories about the dangers. He admits to having a friend that killed a passenger due to texting while driving, but even that doesn’t stop him. When asked what would stop him, he didn’t know. I wonder if reading my recent post on Jim Rockwell would have an impact.

Almost 6,000 teens are killed yearly due to distractions while driving. Parents may talk to their teens, but there are no guarantees that they won’t talk or text and drive anyway. When it comes to distracted driving, technology definitely plays a part, but it can also be part of a solution. This young man I just referenced recently tested a new technology called iZUP. It is an application that you download onto your phone. iZUP is designed to keep drivers focused on the road by blocking outgoing calls, texts, and emails, and send incoming calls to voicemail, and hold incoming text and emails until the vehicle stops. It uses the phone’s GPS chip to determine if the car is moving, then locks predetermined phone functions that only can be reset by the system administrator (parent) who has the password. Other features include:

· allows unlimited access to 911.

· If the care is moving over 5 mph, the software prevents the phone from working.

· has a time-delay for stop lights, stop signs, and heavy traffic.

· requires permission from a system administrator, such as a parent,

· tamper alert notification sent to account holder when a user attempts to disable iZUP

· password protected passenger override

When the young man got behind the wheel, he texted his girlfriend, but when the vehicle started moving, the keypad stopped working and “blocked” appeared on the screen. He admitted the system worked, but he did not like it. On the other hand, his mother did. She feels if he can’t stop himself, maybe technology will force him out of the habit. The service cost as little as $4.95 a month; $49.95 per year. Isn’t your teen worth it?

Lawsuit Financial knows that teens will not always listen to their parents and be responsible on the road, taking every precaution to avoid driver distractions. We know that can be hard for some, so if you need peace of mind when your teen drives, consider the iZUP. The road is full of distractions. Don’t let your (or their) cell phone be one of them; it can prove to be a deadly consequence. iZUP is available on a variety of phones. For more information, we recommend a visit to www.getizup.com.

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