Philippine Daily Inquirer

UNIQUE APP TO KEEP MOTORISTS, PEDESTRIAN­S SAFER

- By Charles E. Buban

Modern technology makes life easier and safer in manyways, but using a mobile phone while driving or walking down the street is definitely not one of them.

Inappropri­ate mobile phone usage has become a leading cause of auto accidents and in fact, texting—the most common cause of distracted driving accidents—is fast becoming the new drunk driving.

Fortunatel­y, there are a number of good apps for safe driving or walking that can help one prevent accidents, including this newly introduced app called Croxtec (www.croxtec.com.ph).

The app Croxtec is designed to enhance pedestrian safety by helping one become more mindful of his/her own safety in relation to the motorists and other pedestrian­s on the street. In effect, this app “sees” the user before the drivers and those on the street “see” the user.

Once it is downloaded on the mobile device, the user is asked to log on either as a pedestrian or a motorist. The app locates the user andwill send alert if that person is in the correspond­ing Croxtec zones. Once in these zones, the app will aid in determinin­g user’s safety status as a pedestrian or a motorist.

Data connection is needed to run Croxtec on your mobile phone.

The free Croxtec becomes available on Google Play starting June 18 and because this app is in Android format, iPhone users will still have to wait for the iOS version.

Safety status

As a Croxtec user, motorists and pedestrian­s will be alerted of their safety status once the app is switched on. Warning would include—via vibrate, alert tone or voice—of an oncoming vehicle if there is an impending collision or if visibility is not clear, so the user can be alerted and remain safe.

The Croxtec Zones for motorists are defined as follows:

1. SAFE ZONE means the user is within a radius of more than 75 meters

2. CAUTION ZONE means the user is within a radius of 31 meters to 75 meters

3. UNSAFE ZONE means the user is less than 31 meters.

The Croxtec Zones for pedestrian­s are much shorter:

1. SAFE ZONE means the user is within a radius of 25 meters and more

2. CAUTION ZONE means the user is within a radius of 16 meters to 25 meters

3. UNSAFE ZONE means the user is within a radius of less than 16 meters.

For motorists and pedestrian­s running other apps, Croxtec can be kept running in the background. Once the app is switched on, it can continue to detect user’s location and movement and will provide the appropriat­e alerts.

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