Earlier this year, CNBC released a list of the most dangerous jobs in the USA. Among the top were well known hazardous jobs such as Fishermen and Loggers, however, the list also contained many jobs we encounter every day, such as Farming and Semi/Truck Driving. While we may see semis pass by us every day without batting an eye, the road contains many real dangers, especially when operating a vehicle as large and as heavy as a semi.
Truck drivers aside, the road can still be a very dangerous place to work. Globally, 1.3 million people die in auto accidents each year, an average of 3,287 deaths a day, with an additional 20-50 million injured or disabled. Whether you are a taxi driver, field agent or simply just heading to a meeting, getting behind the wheel every day can put you in some dangerous spots.
Fortunately, many startups understand the dangers and complexity of facing the road on such a frequent basis, and aim to make sure we safely make it from A to B. Here are three that should give you a smoother and safer ride.
Safe drive’s creators built the app to try and put a stop to the epidemic and dangerous trend of mobile phone use while driving, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found to be more dangerous than drunk driving. The app is designed to reward users for driving without touching their phone. The app locks the driver’s phone screen as soon as they exceed 6 mph or 10 km/h, and begins to award the driver points for not touching their phone while driving. The “Release” screen is designed to be dull and eliminate distractions. Pressing the Release button to use your phone while your car is moving, will result in losing the points you made that trip.
Whenever your speed is under 6 mph or 10 km/h, the screen shows the number of points earned, and when you arrive at your destination, the points are then added to your account. You can then use your points on discounted products offered by certain companies which can be spent in the SafeDrive Marketplace.
Revolar helps users stay safe by making it easy to communicate your status and location to trusted contacts. With Revolar, you can reach out for help faster than you can reach your phone, and the app now offers a key fob to make the process quicker and easier. With just one click users can send a location snapshot and an “I’m Here” message to chosen contacts. Additionally, you can also activate an alert to let contacts know where you are, even if you’re on the go.
This New York based startup is slightly different from the others as it is aimed towards providing reactive support for those injured in an accident. Road Cash, is the first app helping workers to claim travel costs incurred due to work related injuries and health issues. The app helps to eliminate bureaucracy and paperwork which puts employees off claiming reimbursement, increases the likelihood of winning claims and raises awareness regarding the potential to claim reimbursement.
“Many people give up on claiming compensation reimbursement due to the difficulty of gathering the right information and the length of the process”, said Robert Berman, successful businessman and Managing Member of Road Cash. “We are taking everything that’s paper or entails manual labor and we’re making that digital”.
Unforeseen accidents can happen to everyone. If you do experience lasting injuries, you may need to make numerous hospital visits in your car or a taxi. The Road Cash app allows users to manually or automatically log their trips (for whatever mode of transport), calculates the reimbursement owed and submit the reimbursement information to insurance companies. All users have to do is enter their own details, those of their insurance provider, and those of their travels, and Road Cash takes care of the rest.
