Driving Barista: Preventing Distracted Driving by “Bribing” Drivers with Coffee

Distracted driving remains an enormous traffic safety issue, being involved in thousands of crashes every year- no surprise there.  What is new is a novel way of preventing distracted driving, using an app that monitors one’s driving.

Using cell phones’ on-board gyro-sensors, the system measures the amount of time the phone remains face-down while the vehicle is moving.  The “face-down” orientation is considered by the system to mean the driver is not using the cell phone.  Once the driver has completed 62 miles (measured by GPS) of “face-down” driving, and every 124 miles thereafter, the app presents the driver with a discount on a fresh cup of coffee.

Working together, Toyota Motor Corporation, refreshment retailer Komeda Co Ltd, and the KDDI Corporation telecommunications group has developed a fun approach to preventing motor vehicle collisions.

Basically, drivers can earn coffee by not using their cell phone while behind the wheel.  Sounds like a good trade-off to us!

More info

http://www.traffictechnologytoday.com/news.php?NewsID=81736