An app that notifies a parent when a child or teen is in a car driving at unsafe speeds will soon be available thanks to a group of five teens at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic. The students entered a national competition. Their challenge was to design a concept for an app. Their concept, SAFE SPEED, has been selected as the Best in Nation competing against over 1200 entries. The teens are now beginning the hard work of programming and designing the graphics of the app! Prizes include mentors from MIT, tablets to test and use, as well as $20,000 for the school!
Their winning essay explains their app concept:
Statistics from a 2013 CDC report claim 2163 teenagers (ages 16-19) were killed in the United States due to motorized vehicle crashes. An additional 243,243 other teenagers were placed in emergency departments with injuries suffered. 16-19 year olds are three times more likely to be in a fatal crash than drivers who are over 20. Introducing SAFE SPEED, a leading-edge, mobile, speed monitoring app designed especially for teenage drivers and, just as importantly, their concerned parents. SAFE SPEED provides real-time, customizable, non-distracting speeding alerts for teens. The app would detect speeding when the teen is driving or a passenger in a friend’s car. If the vehicle fails to slow within a preset time limit (for example, 30 seconds), the parent is notified via text message. If the teen arrives home with no speeding, ridiculously positive messages reward them and reports could be used for safe driving discounts with insurance.
The app idea was inspired by the tragic local news report of three area teens who were in an accident involving excessive speeds. The driver, a high school senior, was killed and his two passengers were hospitalized.
I look forward to the four months ahead of working with experienced developers alongside these amazing young people! Keep watching for news when the app is complete and ready for download! Follow our progress: http://cwncsafespeed.com/
In the News: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2016/02/02/local-students-receive-national-recognition-for-safe-driving-app/
