App of the Week – Romex

You hear it and you see it everywhere you look; texting and driving. Yet some people simply don’t get the message that distracted driving is extremely dangerous. It could cost  you or someone else their life. It has already and it will again. That is why Romex MyFix is the app of the week.

The Romex app uses a smartphone’s GPS system to detect the speed the device is moving. If that speed is faster than four miles per hour, it locks the device. Simple yet ingenious.

According to the Center for Disease Control in the U.S. at least 8 people are killed and 1,161 injured everyday in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver. The CDC’s definition of distracted driving is  “… driving while doing another activity that takes your attention away from driving.”  StopTextsStopWrecks.org reports that 44 States, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers.

If Romex detects your phone moving faster than you can walk or run the app disables the screen. This makes it impossible for you to respond to calls, texts, emails, social media, and all the other crap you do on your phone that could get you killed. If you’re a passenger using the Romex app you can set the app to a different mode so that you’re not subjected to a trip without your phone.  But we know that there is a stubborn and stupid driver that will disable the app.

Right now Romex is offering its app to corporations wishing to ensure that their drivers aren’t using their phones while driving the company car. But it expects to release a general version to the public soon.

The Romex app will cost money to download, but could save drivers money on insurance premiums. Romex is currently looking for an insurance partner. According to sales director Steve Arscott, “One good incentive for a young driver to have it on their phone is they would get a rebate on their insurance policy.”