Local App Stops Texting While Driving

A Pocatello doctor has developed a smartphone application that he says will keep you safer on the road.

The app prevents your smartphone from texting while driving.

For parents, giving their teenagers the keys to the car for the first time can be terrifying, but when you add in the possible distractions of phone calls and texting behind the wheel, it gets even scarier.

“I have two grandkids, and they’re all texters, so I worry about that all the time when they’re on the roads,? said Pocatello resident Roy Montgomery. ?Are they doing this in a safe manner??

Portneuf Medical Center heart surgeon Dr. Jacob DeLaRosa said he’s seen too many people injured and killed because of distracted driving.

“A girl died from being distracted. We couldn’t get her into the operating room. She had a torn aorta. After that situation is when we decided we were going to go ahead and do something. We needed to make a difference, and we went forward and made an app,? said DeLaRosa

Dr. DeLaRosa put together a team to develop a smartphone application.

The app uses your phones GPS, and if you go over 15 mph the app shuts down the ability to text and make or answer phone calls.

“There’s a lot of people who seem to be really distracted while driving, and I think it’s a real safety issue, and I just think we’re going to get more people hurt if we don’t do something,” said Montgomery.

The downside to this app is that it doesn’t actually know for sure if you’re driving. If you’re in the passenger seat going down the road, you’re still locked down.

“If somebody can be saved from an accident, a life can be saved. That’s really what we’re working for,? said DeLaRosa

Dr. Delarosa said his team is working on future versions they hope will be able to distinguish if someone is driving a car, or just a passenger.

The app costs $4.99, but all of that goes to charity.

You can find the app here: http://market.android.com/details?id=screen.GPS&feature=search_result