Milford police chief touts mobile app for teenage drivers

Parents and guardians concerned about their teenage drivers now have a new tool to turn to that is making waves with police chiefs across the country.

DriveScribe is a free mobile phone application (app) that can be downloaded onto a smart phone, turning it into a “driving coach” by blocking text messages, updates and calls while a car is in motion through monitoring the speed of a car.

In addition, the app also blocks texts and calls through GPS, social media, a jamming function and real-time voice feedback.

Drivers can keep their phone on the seat, in a cupholder or a mount in the car and the app will inform them if they are going too fast and need to slow down.

The app also allows a parent to enter the starting point for where their driver is going and their destination.

Thanks to the app, parents can be informed through updates if their teen driver has violated any driving laws.

But, there are also incentives for teen drivers by accumulating safe points that will allow them to buy gift cards from different establishments, such as Domino’s Pizza, Amazon.com, and The Sports Authority.

One police chief raving about the app is Milford’s Tom Lindberg.

“We learned about the app just through different networks with police chiefs,” he said. “It’s free, you don’t have to pay for it and it has the best value. I’m also hoping to meet with parents and talk about it as much as I can.”

He added that he hopes to spread the word about the app to the Lakes Area Citizens’ Police Academy, which is a partnership between the Milford, Novi, Walled Lake, Wolverine Lake and South Lyon police departments.

The Citizens’ Academy provides 30 hours of instruction to give the public a working knowledge of police department personnel, policies, and procedures.

The app was created by Drive Power out of Minneapolis, Minn. to help combat the epidemic of teens texting while driving.

The state of Michigan has a law banning texting while driving, with a $100 fine for the first offense and then $200 for each following violation.

For more information on the app, visit the company’s official website, drivescribe.com, where you can sign up for the app and download it.