Everyday
I commute to work or drive I notice the amount of drivers that still
text and drive. Observing drivers next to me as I pass them by while
they go below the speed limit to “stay safe,” or seeing the person in
front looking down every two seconds from their side view mirror, It’s
alarming.
Who
or what so important to risk lives for over a text message? Boss?
Significant other? Do you think their recipient would continue the
conversation knowing they were on the road? Probably not.
If
you’ve ever texted and drove while with friends, did they tell you to
stop? I hope they did, or you need new friends; just kidding, maybe…
Simple Implementation
If
a sender is going at a speed faster than 10 miles per hour, the
recipient would see a message displaying the speed below. (See image)
Privacy
Is
it a privacy concern to allow recipients of messages to see you’re
driving? I think not. Don’t want them to know? Then don’t text them!
With
the new iOS driving feature that auto texts back, perhaps the speed
doesn’t need to display since it was an auto generated text message.
Disable / Passenger?
If
a passenger is texting, well…it will also show your speed, however it
could be possible to implement a feature that only shows the speed once.
Another option would be if a user types along the lines of “no I am not
driving” it stops displaying speed.
Using
the honor system and the thought that someone wouldn’t lie to a loved
one about texting and driving, this feature would be quite effective to
help stop people from texting while driving.
Empathy through others.
Imagine
you’re texting your significant other, parents, or siblings, someone
you care about. The speed is displayed so they ask if you’re
driving — are you really going to lie to continue the conversation? I’d
hope you stop, or your recipient stops responding.
It’s
a very simple implementation that I feel through empathy of people that
care about you, would cause offenders to stop. If it’s really important
call them hands free!
What
are your thoughts? Be sure to follow me as I do a larger case study on
this idea that rewards drivers for not texting and driving!
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