Safe Productions White Paper

S. A. F. E. Productions

S.A.F.E. Productions White Paper Page 2

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ------------------------------------------------------ 3-5 Challenge Description & Solution ------------------------------------- -6-7 Marketing ------------------------------------------------------------------ 8-10 Content &Technical Specs ---------------------------------------------- 11-13 About S.A.F.E. ------------------------------------------------------------- 14 Citations -------------------------------------------------------------------- 15-16


Executive Summary

Each year, Connecticut Career Choices (CCC) selects a theme for students in the

Information Technology Research and Design classes at various high schools throughout

the state. The theme for this year’s Connecticut Innovation Expo is “moving forward,

giving back” dealing with a socially aware topic. After doing intense research, we at

S.A.F.E. Productions felt that texting while driving was a very important subject to focus

on. In order to “move forward”, we developed an iPhone application called N:O Text. In

reference to the “give back” portion of the challenge, this application will teach people

the dangers of texting while driving along with discouraging texting while driving to

make the roads safer.

S.A.F.E. Productions is a student run and organized “socially aware” application

Development Company here to develop community awareness about texting while

driving. People need to realize the dangers to themselves along with the risk they put

upon other drivers if they text and drive. According to the US government website for

distracted driving, the portion of drivers reportedly distracted at the time of the fatal

crashes increased from 7 percent in 2005 to 11 percent in 2009. Our application was

created to save the lives of all drivers by stopping the texting while driving epidemic

starting in our community then expanding nationwide.

Texting while driving is a serious problem that is taking the lives of drivers of all

ages and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. According to the Harvard Center of Risk

Analysis, Cell phone use contributes to an estimated 6 percent of all crashes, which

equates to 636,000 crashes, 330,000 injuries, 12,000 serious injuries and 2,600 deaths

each year.


A survey that was taken in 2006 showed that while sending a text message, 79.2%

of the drivers tested missed a lane change, and that 16 of the 20 tested stated that it was

difficult to stay in their lane while attempting to compose and send a text message.

Connecticut has already passed a law that states: “An operator of a motor

vehicle, who types, sends or reads a text message with a hand-held mobile telephone

or mobile electronic device while such a vehicle is in motion shall be in violation…”

Even with this law in place, people still choose to ignore it and text while they drive. If

you look around, you can see drivers of any age texting on their cell phones when

driving.

Looking at the graph above, you can see that there are bans in all except 11 states.

This is an issue that people see as an epidemic in our country, but some people fail to see


the real dangers that loom with texting and driving. N:O Text will spread this message to

all the states. This is the issue that needs to be taken care of now. S.A.F.E. Production’s

iPhone application, N:O Text will find be the cure for the texting while driving illness

and prevent it from spreading.


Challenge Description and Solution

As a student run company, we are trying to make people more socially aware of

the dangers that result from texting while driving. S.A.F.E. Productions hope is that our

iphone application makes the roads a safer place. We are not only making life easier for

people, but hopefully we are lowering the dangers on the road. If people are not

distracted when they are driving, then they will be paying more attention to the road. This

leads to thousands of lives saved each year. In 2009, 867 fatal crashes involved cell

phones as a distraction. In 20% of fatal crashes cell phones were reported as distractions.

Texting while driving may be the main topic that we are focusing on, but by eliminating

that threat on the road, we are solving many other problems. It will reduce the amount of

distracted driving. Tests have shown that your reaction time slows 3 times more if you

are texting while driving and you take almost 3 times longer just to brake when you are

distracted compared to those who are drinking and driving. A study by Carnegie Mellon

showed that driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity

associated with driving by 37%.


The solution for this texting while driving epidemic is N:O Text. This educational

application will deter people from using a cell phone when they are driving. As you can

tell from the chart above, the texting while driving ban in California has worked to reduce

the amount of texting while driving. Our application will hopefully make that 0.5% of

drivers that text to 0%. If it can be done in California, it will happen in Connecticut with

N:O Text. In order to make this application successful we want people to understand the

dangers of texting while driving. We have incorporated a variety of activities on our

application. We have a facts page that simply gives the application user a list of facts

ranging from facts about texting while driving to facts about texting and driving

separately. Since that may seem uninteresting to a younger audience, we decided to add

some fun to this application. There is a game on this app in which you have to text in

facts before getting into an accident. Each fact will tell about the dangers of texting while

driving. The game also teaches people that it is impossible to be safe when you text and

drive because an accident is inevitable.

This combination of cold hard, straight forward facts and an addicting game will

solve the problem of people texting while driving. By having less distracted drivers,

S.A.F.E. Productions can ensure that the roads nationwide will be a safer place. Solving

this problem is the goal of N:O Text. Saving the community will spread to saving

America.


Marketing

It is important that S.A.F.E. Productions spread the “N:O Text” message to as

many people as possible. Our specific target market that we hope to reach out to is young

drivers or aspiring, soon-to-be drivers, but at the same time, we are not limiting ourselves

to this aspect of the community so N:O Text can also be inspiring for all ages. As one of

our first tasks, our marketing department made flyers that they posted all around our

school. Each flyer had a different fact about texting while driving. Two examples that we

used were “In 2009 alone, 5,474 deaths in America occurred because of drivers that were

texting or talking on their cell phones” and “A survey taken in 2010 found that 9 in 10

teenage drivers admitted they text while driving.” We did this in order to keep the

students interested and actually read the flyers. If every flyer said the same fact, the

students and teachers in the school would not read the flyers. Since they all have different

facts, not only does the variety of facts keep people reading the flyers, but it expands their

knowledge about texting while driving.

Another marketing tool that we are using is the power of the World Wide Web.

The URL for our website is: http://www.safeproductions2012.com. People who view the

website can check out company news along with the application status. Along the top of

the screen, people can view the different web pages for each department.


Another way that we are using the internet to spread the word about S.A.F.E.

Productions is through Facebook. A study taken by Edison Research (published in 2011)

found that fifty-one percent of Americans ages 12 and up have Facebook accounts. With

that knowledge, we attracted people to our Facebook page by holding a drawing for two

$15 Dunkin Donuts gift card. We passed out business cards saying that whoever “likes”

our Facebook page will be entered in the drawing for the gift card. In order to attract

more people to our page, one of the gift cards was for students/staff in our school and the

other gift card was for people outside of the school. This drawing combined with

continuous promotion, has over 100 “likes” on our Facebook page with more to come.

On our Facebook page, we will provide everyone with updates about our progress.


Thanks to our marketing team, we managed to get permission to promote

S.A.F.E. Productions on the morning school news. Every week we update the school on

the progress of our application and provide another fact about the dangers of texting

while driving.

In order to further spread our message, we have solid red wristbands that say “be

a txt free driver”. These bands will be distributed to staff, students and expo attendees to

help to spread our message through this popular fashion trend.


Content and Technical Specs

There are already applications in existence that prevent texting while driving by

disabling the phone when the vehicle reaches a certain speed. What educational value

comes from that? While other applications prevent texting while driving, N:O Text

educates the community about the dangers of it. It is a more sophisticated way to prevent

this life threatening habit from spreading and to stop people who currently text and drive.

N:O Text is an application that is for the iPhone that operates on iOS. Our app

design department used Xcode to code and program this application. It is an innovative

app that teaches the community to say “No” to texting while driving. We have decided to

create a game that will give the users that message. When you open the application it will

bring you to a loading screen that would lead to the main menu of the app. From the main

menu you can choose from the game, options, and facts.


The Game

In the “game” part of our app, you will travel in a vehicle to a certain destination.

While it is moving, you will have a time limit to text an informational message before

you reach the streetlight (all of the messages can be found on the facts page). If the

message is completed within the given time limit, the car will stop at the streetlight.

When the streetlight turns green, your vehicle will turn, bringing you closer to your

destination, but it will also give you a new fact to text. If the message is not completed in

time, the driver will run the red light and will drive into a dangerous collision with

another car. The game will take you back to the beginning, but remember, you cannot

have a “do over” when it comes to your life.

Options

When the user clicks onto the options page, there are four different settings that

the user can adjust: brightness, music volume, quality, and game theme.

Brightness: This controls the back light of the game. Slide the bar to the right to increase

the brightness or slide it to the left to reduce the brightness.

Quality: This controls the resolution of the game screen. It allows the user to choose

from low, medium, or high resolution.

Music Volume: This controls the background music volume in the game.

Game Theme: This allows the user to select the background scenery for the game. The

user can choose from a countryside, tropical, or urban background to travel on during the

game.


Facts Menu

The facts window is divided into three sections: texting, driving, and texting

while driving. Each section will give the user access to a database depending on which

button you choose. Once the user chooses a subject there will be a generate button that

will show randomly chosen facts regarding the topic.

Texting Driving Texting While Driving

95% of 18-29 year olds text message.

2009 5,474 people were killed on U.S. roadways.

Over 15% of fatal car crashes are caused by texting while driving.

More than 72% of cell phone users send and receive text messages

Approximately, 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that involved distracted driving.

Over 26% of driver’s text while driving.

In 2009, U.S. cell phone users sent 4.1 billion texts every day.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among American teenagers, killing between 5,000 and 6,000 teenagers every year.

Reaction time is delayed by 3 seconds while texting and driving.

Facts Generator

On this page, there is a “generate” button that, when selected, generates a fact that

appears on the screen. Each time the user selects “generate”, a new fact will appear on the

screen.


About S.A.F.E.

Our Mission: S.A.F.E. Productions is a student run and organized “socially aware” application

development company here to develop community awareness about texting while

driving. People need to realize the dangers to themselves along with the risk they put

upon other drivers if they text and drive. According to the US government website for

distracted driving, the portion of drivers reportedly distracted at the time of the fatal

crashes increased from 7 percent in 2005 to 11 percent in 2009. Our application was

created to save the lives of all drivers by stopping the texting while driving epidemic

starting in our community then expanding nationwide.

S.A.F.E. Productions Logo, slogan, and staff:


Citations "Connecticut Driving Laws| New Texting Law|Cell Phone |Hands Free |

Drivinglaws.org." DUI Laws. Drunk Driving. Teen Laws. Cell Phone Law.

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2011. <http://www.distraction.gov/stats-and-facts/>.

"Driving Distracted | Stats and Facts | Driving and Texting." Distracted Driving |

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration | Distraction.gov. Web. 30 Mar.

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"The Facts About Teen Driving." Allstate Insurance Company, 2011. Web. 4 Mar. 2011.

<www.allstate.com>.

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2011. <http://cellphones.org/blog/text-messaging/>.

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News Headlines on Current Events from Yahoo! News. Yahoo, 26 Mar. 2011.

Web. 13 Apr. 2011. <http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20110326/tc_zd/262377>.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. U.S Department of Transportation.

Distracted Driving 2009. Sept. 2010. Web. 16 May 2011. <www.NHTSA.gov>.

"Number of Drivers in the US | Number Of | How Many." World | Number Of | How

Many. 20 Mar. 2010. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. <http://www.numberof.net/number-of-

drivers-in-the-us>.


"Texting While Driving 'more Dangerous than Drugs or Alcohol'" Breitbart.com. Web.

30 Mar. 2011.

<http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080918100933.qj8ms49l>.

Vogel, Steve. "Teen Driver Menace: Text-Messaging: Studies Show Texting While

Driving Is Epidemic." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 22

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Safe Productions White Paper