Insurance Industry's First Free Mobile Tool to Combat Distracted Driving Celebrates First Anniversary

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It's been a year since State Farm Insurance Company released the insurance industry's first Android widget aimed at combating the problem of distracted driving.   The company reports the "On the Move™" widget is currently being used almost 100 times a day.

"Our metrics indicate that a significant number of drivers are using our widget to avoid distracted driving on a daily basis," said Laurette Stiles, Vice President–Strategic Resources at State Farm. "It's encouraging to know that this technology is being used to help make our roads safer for everyone.   If even one life is saved, we'll be happy we were able to make a difference."

The widget enables Android smartphone users to compose and preload customized messages that can be sent as automated responses to incoming text messages.  With the service, instead of reading and responding to text messages while driving or otherwise occupied, smartphone users can activate the service and let the widget respond for them. The service is free to anyone with an Android smartphone as part of State Farm's updated Pocket Agent® for Android™ application.

The National Safety Council estimates that 200,000 crashes each year are caused by drivers who are texting.  State Farm is a leader in research and programs aimed at preventing distracted driving and other forms of dangerous driving.  

Customized responses

With the service, Android owners can create their own responses and save them to a library for future use.  The service works with all incoming texts, or can be limited to senders listed in the user's smartphone address book.  Activating the service prior to driving is just one way to use the widget.  Smartphone users also can use the service while unavailable for other reasons, such as being in class, at the gym or in a movie.  

"On the Move" users simply activate the auto-response function by turning on the widget and composing or selecting auto-response messages.  Incoming text messages are still received and can be accessed in the user's inbox at any time.  

Availability

The service is part of the State Farm suite of mobile tools, which includes Steer Clear®, Driver Feedback™, mobile banking, and Pocket Agent.

"On the Move" is compatible with Android OS 1.5 and higher.  Upon updating State Farm Pocket Agent, Android users will be able to access "On the Move" through a widget available on smartphone home screens.  

The service is not available at this time on BlackBerry, Windows Mobile phone or iPhones but the State Farm development team is currently evaluating options beyond the Android offering.  

View video of the "On the Move" widget in action at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xtjzO0-Hfw

About State Farm®:

State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. Our 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 78 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 37 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®. 

SOURCE State Farm

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