Sprint Drive First:
Stop the Distractions
& Shift Focus to the Road
According to a 2013 study on traffic
safety culture by the AAA Foundation
for Traffic Safety, nearly all drivers view
texting or emailing while driving as a very
serious threat to their own personal safety
and consider it completely unacceptable.1
Given this growing consumer awareness, Sprint is continuing its
close to ten years of educating wireless users about overall driver
safety and the dangers of texting while driving. The company’s
current work includes a portfolio of tools wireless customers
and the business community can use to assist in their distracted
driving prevention, including:
Sprint Drive First: A free wireless application that helps drivers
stay focused on the road by locking their smartphone when motion
is detected. Sprint Drive First automatically detects movement
above 10 miles per hour and locks the mobile phone. Incoming
calls are directed to voicemail and incoming texts receive a
standardized response. Sprint Drive First is available on Sprint
CDMA Android™-powered smartphones for free in Google Play.
Sprint Connected Solutions for Fleet Management: Sprint
offers businesses with fleets a choice of industry-leading fleetmanagement solutions that help fleet managers to identify and
reduce risky driving behaviors including harsh braking, starts,
stops, speeding and swerving while enabling them to track and
monitor vehicle locations, optimize driver dispatch and routing,
and receive maintenance reminders and alerts. Some solutions
help drivers self-coach by providing an in-vehicle alert when they
violate a company driving policy (speeding, etc).
Sprint Velocity: This solution helps automakers around the world
develop and market totally customized connected services for
their cars and passenger trucks. Connected car services enabled by
Sprint Velocity can include infotainment features such as music,
news, weather and sports, Wi-Fi connections for mobile devices,
security, navigation, emergency services and engine diagnostics.
1
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2013 Traffic Safety Culture Index
Full Report. January 2014, from https://www.aaafoundation.org/
2013-traffic-safety-culture-index.
34
California Police Chief | www.californiapolicechiefs.org
DriveCam: Powered by Lytx Programs, DriveCam captures video
and audio inside and outside of the vehicle when triggered by
a risky driving event that could lead to a collision. The device
provides real-time feedback to the driver, and video events are
uploaded via the wireless network enabled by Sprint to Lytx’s
review center where they are analyzed, scored and posted to
the company’s cloud-based platform for driver coaching and
improvement.
Sprint Solutions for Usage-Based Insurance (UBI): This
service gives insurance carriers the ability to offer customers
personalized discounts based on their driving habits. The vehicle
is fitted with a small device that easily plugs into the diagnostic
port. It captures vehicle information and driver behavior data
which is transmitted over the Sprint wireless network. A cloudbased system analyzes the data with driver scoring software that
enables insurance carriers to improve driver risk assessments
and provide insurers and their policyholders with accurate and
reliable data analytics.
Additionally, for a fourth consecutive year, Sprint is sponsoring
the Do Something Thumb Wars campaign. Starting in May 2014,
Sprint’s partnership with Do Something, will include a celebrity
public service announcement, the distribution of 80,000 pairs
of thumb socks to teen students who can win a $10,000 college
scholarship, and spreading information about distracted driving
awareness nationwide to teens and adults.
More information on Sprint’s distracted driving efforts can be
found at sprint.com/drive. ■