September 10, 2018—General Motors is launching an app to help remind drivers to put down their phones and keep their eyes on the road, reported USA Today.
The app, Call Me Out, was designed as a Chevrolet app on Android phones but it can be used for other automakers' vehicles, as well, according to the report.
The app uses the phone's accelerometer to gauge the vehicle's acceleration and uses GPS to detect when the phone is physically picked up while traveling faster than 5 mph. Then it plays recorded, personalized messages from friends and family reminding the driver to pay attention to the road and put the phone down.
According to USA Today, the app also includes gamification, featuring a scoreboard and rankings. The less a phone is handled while driving, the higher the score on the leaderboard.
According to a recent Research Now survey, 84 percent of people admit that distracted driving while handling a phone is dangerous, yet 90 percent of drivers have done it, GM said.
