CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - May 19, 2015) - TransUnion and Cellcontrol, a leader in distracted driving prevention and usage-based insurance data collection, have joined forces to offer a new technology that provides enhanced protection against distracted driving. The announcement was made at TransUnion's Insurance Summit in Chicago, a two-day gathering of more than 100 insurance executives from across the nation, in an effort to help combat cell phone use among teen drivers.
A recent TransUnion survey found the demand for products that discourage cell phone use while driving was significant. The survey of parents of teen drivers found that their most common concern about their child's driving safety was talking on or holding the phone (66 percent) followed by typing, texting or interacting with their phone (63 percent) while behind the wheel. In fact, parents are twice as likely to worry about their teen driving while texting or interacting with their phone than driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (34 percent).
"A new technology market for distracted driving solutions is evolving due to increased driving-related injuries and fatalities as a result of smart phone use," said Mark McElroy, executive vice president of TransUnion's insurance business unit. "While new laws have been passed in more than 40 states to regulate mobile phone calling and texting while driving, our partnership with Cellcontrol will provide additional benefits and security features to consumers. This is a positive example of how technology and information can help reduce insurance liability, accident costs, injuries and most importantly, the loss of human lives."
Roughly three in four parents (74 percent) have instructed their teen to turn off their phone, but that is often not enough to prevent distracted driving, according to the survey. More than one in three parents (35 percent) has taken active steps to make driving safer for their teen by physically disabling their child's phone when they are driving.
Cellcontrol's proprietary DriveID™ technology has multiple modes of operation. Protection mode is the insurance industry's first and only driver identification platform that accurately detects who sits in the driver's seat and immobilizes devices so that drivers cannot inappropriately use these devices while driving.
Audit mode allows for use of the device while driving to be monitored thus creating a clearer view of the risk an individual poses to an insurer or the basis for discussion about driver safety for families. The technology is designed to integrate into any platform, to connect with most mobile devices and gathers auditable, accurate driving performance data using existing connectivity.
DriveID comes ready to stop all mobile distractions, including texts, phone calls, emails and web browsing. Emergency calls (i.e. 911) are always allowed through the system, and parents or account managers can decide which mobile functions to allow in 'protection mode' through an easy-to-use online application. Parents can also receive notifications of excessive speed, hard braking, device tampering and tracking the driving route of each trip.
This service and data provides consumers lifesaving technology, eliminating the temptation of bad habits while protecting young drivers, passenger(s), bystanders and other motorists as well as providing financial savings by eliminating crash severity/frequency. The solution will be made available through special programs to insurance carriers, and directly to consumers.
"We created Cellcontrol to stop distracted driving and save lives," said Cellcontrol CEO Robert Guba. "We're not only creating a safer driving experience for our customers, we're promoting safer driving habits in the process. As a result, we're already seeing some of our customers beginning to save money on their insurance premiums."
For more information about DriveID technology, please contact Jeff Reynolds (jreynol@transunion.com).
About the Survey
The 2015 Teen Driving survey was conducted online with 1,000 parents of teenage drivers from May 1st - May 5th, 2015. Developed and sponsored by TransUnion, with fieldwork performed by Toluna, a leading international market research firm, the research was national in scope yielding results weighted and balanced to U.S. census parameters. The results have a projected +/- 3.5% Margin of Error at 95% confidence for "All Respondents," and a projected +/- 4.0% Margin of Error at 95% confidence for demographic, attitudinal, behavioral and other subgroups.
About Cellcontrol
Established in 2009, Cellcontrol delivers the world's leading technology to stop distracted driving for passenger and commercial vehicles. The company's patented distracted driving prevention platform and flagship product, DriveProtect, eliminates talking, texting, and browsing on any mobile device while a vehicle is in motion. Cellcontrol's mobile device policy enforcement technology has been recognized by the Consumer Reports, the Consumer Electronics Show and the National Traffic Safety Institute, and is used by families and Fortune 500 companies. For more information on the Baton Rouge, La.-based company, visit cellcontrol.com and follow @Cellcontrol.
About TransUnion
Information is a powerful thing. At TransUnion, we realize that. We are dedicated to finding innovative ways information can be used to help individuals make better and smarter decisions. We help uncover unique stories, trends and insights behind each data point, using historical information as well as alternative data sources. This allows a variety of markets and businesses to better manage risk and consumers to better manage their credit, personal information and identity. Today, TransUnion reaches consumers and businesses in more than 30 countries around the world on five continents. Through the power of information, TransUnion is working to build stronger economies and families and safer communities worldwide.
We call this Information for Good. www.transunion.com/business
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Contact Information:
Contact
Dave Blumberg
dblumbe@transunion.com
312-972-6646
