The Vehawk app tracks a driver’s cellphone usage during a trip and sends notifications to the account holder (most likely a parent) when texting while driving has been detected. The account holder can access other information online such as detailed maps of each route, each text or call that was made during the trip and where they happened along the route. It also can track other dangerous driving behavior like speeding.
The app was co-developed by Dr. Chad Carman, an emergency room physician, and Kip Carman, an IT professional. They hope it will be used by parents to monitor teen driving habits and by businesses with fleets of employee-driven vehicles.
“We believe that passing laws is not enough to effectively limit distracted driving. Vehawk has all the potential to save countless lives from this tragic national epidemic,” Dr. Chad Carman said in a statement.
It sounds like a helpful way to monitor dangerous behavior, but the catch is drivers need to enable the app on their phone for the incriminating data to be transmitted.
Vehawk is currently in the beta testing phase and works on Android-platform phones; an iPhone app is also in development. Click here to find out more.
News Editor Jennifer Geiger joined the automotive industry in 2003, much to the delight of her Corvette-obsessed dad. Jennifer is an expert reviewer, certified car-seat technician and mom of three. She wears a lot of hats — many of them while driving a minivan.