The Safecell application for iPhone and Android phones gives incentive to choose not texting or calling while you drive. I really like the idea of this app, which actually rewards users who leave their cell phone alone while they drive. I need encouragement to put the phone down as much as everyone else. Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about distracted Alberta drivers, and this could be a very handy tool to let people avoid the texting and driving trap.

Like most iPhone users, I’m an addict. I check email, facebook and Twitter. I like texting, and when I’m at loose ends I might play a game or two on my phone. With all of these fun activities, it is so tempting to continue texting and using the phone while I am in a vehicle, even if I’m the driver. It doesn’t seem that dangerous, does it?

Well, the evidence shows that texting while driving reduces your reaction times to a 70 year old driver, or worse. Texting is responsible for a lot of traffic accidents, many of them resulting in death. Society needs to find a solution to this problem.

Safecell can help drivers make the right choices. If you start up the Safecell app when you start your trip, it tracks your position and notifies you of local laws regarding cell phone use in vehicles. When a text or call comes in, Safecell will warn you of the potential consequences of picking it up while driving.

But the best part about Safecell is that it records a users cell phone use while driving, awarding points for safe behavior. Users can eventually trade these points for all sorts of rewards, with vendors such as Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and many others. 500 points are valued at $5, and the users of Safecell get a point for every safe mile driven.

With all of the great rewards available, it is an awesome way to earn an iPod, Amazon products, even travel vouchers from a cruise line. At the same time, the roads will be safer in places like Alberta, Canada. It’s a win win situation, so please, check out the Safecell Application and see if it’s right for you.

Millions of cell phone users text every day while driving, and studies as well as common sense show this to be a very dangerous activity. Fortunately, new smartphone apps are appearing on the market to help keep people from texting while driving. One such application is Otter, now available for Android and Blackberry. Sadly, it was not yet available for iPhone when this post was written, but hopefully soon will be.

Otter lets phone users control their texting in a vehicle in more than one way. There is a really good video which shows the features of Otter, better than I can describe them (check out the Otter video here). GPS based motion sensing technology allows the user to set Otter to block incoming texts and calls, if so desired.  While the vehicle is in motion, the Otter app will silence alerts and ringtones and allow the driver to focus on the task at hand, driving. At the same time, customized reply messages can be created which allow users to inform callers and texters that they aren’t being ignored, and their message will be returned when safe.

Parents can set Otter to do these functions in their teenager’s phone, with a password. This allows parents to set ground rules for their driving aged children to keep them safe behind the wheel, eliminating temptation.

My personal opinion is that spouses should be able to passcode the phones of their husbands and wives with the Otter application to keep them safe behind the wheel, not just teenagers. Everyone seems to be in denial about how dangerous it is to be a distracted driver. Yes, teenagers are texting and driving, but so are housewives, salesmen, and truck drivers!

I would love to try out Otter myself, but unfortunately that isn’t possible on the iPhone at this time. Apple, get with the program and help us have this functionality! You don’t want Android to get the drop on you, do you? Texting and driving is a safety issue, and phone manufacturers are enabling people to make poor choices. I think all of the companies which put phones on the market should be trying to eliminate cell phone use by drivers.