Systems and methods to monitor and improve driving behavior
A system and method to reduce driver distraction caused by the use of mobile devices while driving. The system and method provide a range of features to promote safe driving practices for drivers while providing valuable data to the intended recipient/interested party. The system and method are configured to block a driver's smartphone during operation of the vehicle, assess and evaluate driver behavior during operation of the vehicle, store data for later access and transmit behavioral data to an interested party. The system can also include an app which provides training, education, enforcement, navigation and safety, thereby providing technology which reduces the tragic events resulting from distracted driving and utilizes technology to neutralize the negative aspects of smartphone use during vehicle operation.
1 . A method for reducing driver distraction during operation of a vehicle, the method comprising:
a) blocking use of one or more apps on a smartphone while the driver is operating the vehicle, the blocking performed by a local first driver specific app independent of a specific vehicle;
b) monitoring a driving behavior of the driver during operation of the vehicle;
c) accumulating data in real time of the driving behavior and generating a calculated index of behavior to provide a driver score; and
d) comparing the driver score to a desired score and generating an alarm if the driver score is outside the desired score;
wherein the calculation of the score weighs driver behavior, driver distraction, and driver utilization of apps that are not blocked while the driver is operating the vehicle.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of blocking use of the one or more apps a automatically occurs when the vehicle exceeds a threshold speed.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein when the one or more apps are blocked in response to operation of the vehicle, emergency directed calls are still enabled for activation by the driver in case of an emergency, thereby overriding blockage of calls from the smartphone, wherein the score is used to detect an emergency event if the score reaches a predetermined high score, enabling emergency features of the app.
4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising automatically detecting one or more of a change in G-Force pressure, deployment of airbags or deployment of a vehicle sensor to alert emergency services to a location of the vehicle.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a camera of the smartphone monitors the behavior of the driver, the behavior being a direction the driver is looking during operation of the vehicle, wherein the smartphone is removably mounted to a dashboard of the vehicle.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a) identifying a GPS location of the driver and vehicle and generating notifications for estimated time of arrival and unusual patterns of driving to a remote data recipient, thereby assessing a speed of the vehicle during a trip, and b) displaying at the end of the trip a map of a route of the drive and driving events along the route indicative of driver behavior during the trip.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating alarms if the driving behavior is outside a predetermined parameter, wherein the alarm is transmitted to one or both of the driver and a computing device remote from the vehicle to inform a remote data recipient.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating an alarm if the driver exceeds a speed limit, wherein the alarm is transmitted to one or both of the driver and a computing device remote from the vehicle to inform a remote data recipient.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the index is stored on the smartphone and transmitted to a remote computing device outside the vehicle for observation by a remote data recipient.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of calculating the index comprises scoring various parameters of driving behavior wherein at least one of the various parameters is allocated a different weight than other parameters in calculating the index in accordance with a ranking of dangerous behavior, and wherein higher scores are allocated to higher deviations from thresholds and the score can be continuously calculated during the drive and if the score exceeds a threshold score during driving, an alarm is sent to the driver.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the various parameters scored for creating the index include one or more of the following: speed, acceleration, cornering and braking, and a second score is generated based on a subset of the various parameters of interest.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the driving behavior is determined by a series of measured parameters, the parameters stored in memory on the smartphone, the measured parameters utilizing a predetermined index of values, and the data is transferred in real time to a data recipient remote from the vehicle, wherein data is not collected when a vehicle speed is below a predetermined speed and when the vehicle re aches predetermined speed, data collection commences.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein data collected of the driver behavior is communicated to an insurance company in response to data requests at intervals sent to the smartphone of the driver.
14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
a) tracking a location of the driver of the vehicle and generating notifications of unusual patterns of driving to the driver within the vehicle and to a remote computing device outside the vehicle;
b) wherein data is collected in real time on driver distraction by a computing device within the vehicle during operation of the vehicle;
c) wherein the data is accessible to the driver and an individual remote from the vehicle; and
d) prior to commencement of driving, selecting a level of strictness correlating to driver or data recipient preferences, the level of strictness providing a level of driver monitored behavior and level of blocking of the one or more apps.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the data collecting commences once vehicle operation is above a predetermined speed and data is not collected when operation of the vehicle luces to below the predetermined speed, and data collection and blocking use of the on or more apps on the computing device within the vehicle automatically resumes when the vehicle returns to operation above the predetermined speed.
16 . The method of claim 14 , where a score of driving behavior calculated based on the collected data, and the score is stored on the smartphone and/or transmitted to the remote computing device outside the vehicle for observation by the remote individual and wherein collecting data includes tracking the driver's speed, acceleration, cornering and braking.
17 . A non-transitory computer implemented system executable by a processor, the system comprising executing the operations of:
a) registering driver information on a computing device;
b) blocking select apps on the computing device within a vehicle while the driver is operating the vehicle beyond a threshold speed, the blocking performed by a local first driver specific app independent of a specific vehicle,
c) collecting data on driving behavior of the driver during operation of the vehicle beyond the threshold speed, wherein data is not collected by the system when the vehicle speed is below a predetermined speed and when the vehicle reaches the predetermined speed data collection commences and when the vehicle decelerates below the predetermined speed, the select apps are unblocked;
storing the data in memory on the computing device; and
transmitting the data to a remote computing device for monitoring of the data to assess driving behavior of the driver.
18 . The system of claim 17 , further comprising generating a first score based on one or more parameters of the driving behavior, the first score transmittable to the remote computing device of a data recipient remote from the vehicle.
19 . The system of claim 17 , further comprising generating alarms if driving behavior is outside a predetermined parameter or a calculated score during driving is outside a predetermined score, wherein the alarm is transmitted to the driver.
20 . The system of claim 18 , further comprising generating a second score, the second score computed based on a subset of the parameters of driving behavior utilized to compute the first score.