Reducing Cell Phone Distracted Driving: There May Be A Better Way

Participants at the Kingwood Positive Interaction Program (PIP) June 18 were treated to a whole new way of thinking about the deadly distraction of cell phone use while driving. When Officer D.P. Von Quintus of the Houston Police Department (HPD) Kingwood Station presented his guest speaker, Courtney Scioli, everyone was expecting a grim report about how dangerous and costly the epidemic of auto crashes caused by cell phone usage has become. Instead Scioli presented an incentive program developed by a for-profit organization to get people to stay off their phones while driving. It works through the use of a smart phone app called “SAFE2SAVE.”

Scioli explained how it all started after a student lost his life from a driver texting in College Station. Marci Corry decided to make an impact on safe driving in communities throughout Texas. After researching behavior change and observing that her own young children responded well with positive reinforcement, Corry decided to encourage people in a positive way to stay off their phones while driving. She founded SAFE2SAVE in October 2016. Since that time, the program and app has gained a lot of popularity with over 130,000 users. Businesses participating in the rewards program are located in many cities throughout Texas. The company plans to expand across the entire state of Texas and go nationwide in the near future.