As the prime House sponsor of legislation making texting and talking on a cell phone without a headset a primary offense, I am pleased with the successful work of our citizen’s coalition. It’s good public policy and the right thing for public safety, especially given the inability of young people to put down the darn phone and focus on driving.

As a technology entrepreneur in the wireless, software and clean energy sectors, however, I had a nagging sense that our efforts in Olympia would quickly be outdated by the marketplace of ideas.

Indeed.

Check out www.otterapp.com, a tiny Seattle-based startup with an awesome application that shuts off texting functionality once the device is moving rapidly (and thus in a vehicle). You can download the Droid application here: http://www.appstorehq.com/otter-android-193982/app, and hopefully an iPhone app will go live as soon as the GPS functionality is opened to developers by Apple.

A constituent and entrepreneur, Erik Wood of Queen Anne, shared his story with me over coffee recently. I’m shamelessly sharing his commercial material because I think it’s a compelling, purposeful and meaningful application that makes good business and policy sense.

Here’s his pitch:

” OTTER was conceived after the owner’s three year old daughter was nearly run down on a quiet residential street by a driver who was texting. It was built to compliment your busy life and to help you focus on the task at hand whether that be at home, in the office or, most importantly, on our nation’s highways.

OTTER’s easy-to-use auto reply feature immediately responds to incoming texts with your customized response without the OTTER user seeing or hearing cues that a text exchange has occurred. A timer auto-reply function manages incoming texts during specific times such as a daily commute or an important meeting.

OTTER’s Break the Habit Campaign (http://BTHnow.org) is supported by the application’s first of its kind GPS / Parental Control Feature. Parents can enter a password, hit the GPS button and know that while their teen’s phone is in a moving vehicle, OTTER will silence all primary text notifications and auto-reply with an anti texting and driving message. All of this happens without the OTTER user hearing or seeing primary cues from the cell phone that a text exchange has occurred. OTTER’s Parental Control does not replace the parent, but it does empower them. It can be disabled with four numbers that make up the session specific pass code. This promotes discussions among family members about safety with regard to the deadly combo of texting and driving

For adult drivers who want to self govern that almost Pavlovian need to respond to that text chime, we included a simple GPS Mode feature (tap one button) that you can leave on all the time if you like. When your car is moving, you won’t be tempted by that seductive text chime. When you are done focusing solely on safe driving, all of your texts will be available for you to answer on your terms.

This unique cell phone application is valuable tool to anyone concerned about their personal safety, and the safety of those around them, and those who wish to improve their daily productivity. OTTER also sets itself apart from more personally invasive text and drive safety software by putting control in the hands of the user, and its the first smart phone software of its kind to be sold for a modest download fee and no recurring charges.”
(ref: http://www.OTTERapp.com )

(End of Otter promotional materials)

As a state legislator I believe in strengthening our laws against driving while texting. As an entrepreneur I see a huge market and business opportunity. As a father of four children who is especially worried about the safety of young people on our roads, I see a critical role for both.

Your partner in service,

Reuven.