By Sara Miller, NoCamels -
Many of us have been stuck behind a dawdling driver only to discover that they had one eye on the road and the other on their phone, or worse, been involved in an accident caused by someone whose attention was diverted from the road to their mobile device.
Israeli company Letstop has what it believes is the answer to this dangerous phenomenon – rewarding drivers for good behavior, giving them an incentive to drive safely rather than a punishment for using their phone while behind the wheel.
Almog Nissan, Letstop founder and technology manager, tells NoCamels that he created the company with its marketing manager Dor Levy, a long-time friend, after he suffered a serious back injury two years ago in a collision caused by an undercover cop who drove through a red light.
“I took it to a good place,” Nissan says of his injury. “I found a way to help other people, to prevent them from having a car accident.”
According to the company’s data, 40 percent of drivers worldwide admit to using their phone while using their vehicles, while 9 percent of global road accident fatalities are caused by people texting while driving. Furthermore, it says, using the phone behind the wheel is six times riskier than driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The Letstop app will provide users with three forms of incentive to obey the rules of the road: credit that can be converted into vouchers for use in a wide range of stores and eateries; in-app purchases from a variety of businesses; and even being able to transfer the credits earned into actual cash.
“Unlike the police, who are giving you tickets or maybe taking you to court, we give incentives for safe driving,” Nissan explains. “You can get actual money just by driving safely.”
He says that while there are other products to discourage drivers from using their phones, none offer the same positive incentives as Letstop.
Once opened, the app runs in the background, monitoring phone usage during a drive. It automatically ends its monitoring once the car is no longer in motion for a more extended period than a brief stop, such as at a traffic light.
The app shuts itself down once the drive is over, which the company says is designed to protect the privacy of the driver.
The platform also works for scooter users, motorcyclists and cyclists (both electric and pedal-powered), who Nissan says can also fall prey to the habit of using their phones while in motion – even when doing so is not always illegal.
“We don’t want you to use your phone when you’re on your bicycle: it’s dangerous!” he says.
According to Nissan, the company is currently in the process of finalizing agreements with businesses to appear on the app, which will be available through both the Android and Apple stores.
He says the company is planning to work with fast food outlets and “any other type of business that you can think of.”
Letstop is also in partnership talks with major transportation companies in Israel as well as a road safety organization that reached out to the startup.
“They really love the idea,” Nissan says.
Most of the funding for the development of the app has come from private investors, although the company has a business plan to become profitable quickly.
The app is free to download but does have an in-app payment for those who want to increase the amount of credits and rewards they receive.
Nissan explains that the user of the free version can receive up to $20 per month in benefits, while a monthly upgrade fee of $5 will allow users to collect up to $45 in rewards for safe driving.
The company plans to officially launch the app later this month, but Nissan says the trial version already has 2,500 early access users in Israel alone.
“A lot of people want to join,” he says. “Who doesn’t like to get money on a regular basis?”
