Accountable
The Challenge: Each year, distracted driving leads to thousands of fatalities and results in over 1.6 million accidents. Our client sought to create an app that would link teenagers' monthly allowances to safe driving behaviors. We advised that it was crucial to validate the core technology first, specifically a high-accuracy detection system for phone use while driving, before introducing financial rewards. The key challenges included maintaining accuracy on both iOS and Android platforms, preventing false positives when the user was not the driver, and working within the constraints of GPS and background application processes.
Our Solution: To realize this concept, we developed Accountable, a mobile and web application that utilizes a custom Bluetooth beacon. This beacon confirms the vehicle's presence, ensuring that tracking is conducted only when the user is in their own car. By integrating GPS, beacon proximity, and operating system-level detection of phone usage, our solution achieved reliable accuracy where other methods failed. We created sleek, modern user interfaces that presented complex safety information in an easily digestible format. This provided parents with clear oversight and reassurance, while young drivers were engaged through user-friendly dashboards, progress tracking, and gamified incentives. We extensively tested the system in real cars to adjust for challenging situations, such as idling at traffic lights or GPS inaccuracies, ensuring precision before launch.