Media Release
27 November 2012
Vodafone helps drivers to ignore their mobiles
Help is at hand for drivers battling the urge to respond to incoming TXTs, thanks to Vodafone DriveSafe. Available to
all Vodafone customers free of charge, DriveSafe will send an automated reply to any TXT message received, letting the
sender know that the driver is on the road and unable to respond.
Although illegal for more than three years, TxTing while driving is still a major issue and a key target in the Police’s
current cell phone blitz.
Endorsed by the NZ AA and the NZ Transport Agency, DriveSafe is activated by TXTing ‘DRIVE ON’ to 760. The service is
then turned off by TXTing ‘DRIVE OFF’ to the same number. Anyone TXTing the driver during this time will receive the
message “I’m driving right now. I’ll read your TXT as soon as it is safe to do so. Vodafone DriveSafe.”
Vodafone’s General Manager of Products, Greg McAlister says DriveSafe is aimed at helping New Zealanders use their
mobiles safely.
“Texting and driving is such a topical issue in New Zealand, and Vodafone wants to play its part in contributing to road
safety. We would love to see all our customers using DriveSafe.”
McAlister says that all Vodafone sales staff who are regularly on the road are now using the service.
AA Motoring Affairs General Manager Mike Noon says Vodafone DriveSafe is simple, yet effective. “One of the worst things
about texting and driving is that drivers know they shouldn’t do it but many cases just can’t seem to stop themselves
when they hear a message arrive.
“Vodafone DriveSafe is a simple tool that can help drivers to leave the phone alone. The driver can relax knowing the
person who texted them has been sent a reply and, as a bonus, it is spreading the message that texting and driving are a
potentially lethal mix.”
Vodafone New Zealand and DriveSafe won the User Safety Innovation category at the Global Telecoms Awards in London
earlier this year.
DriveSafe is Vodafone’s third innovation that gives customers control over who contacts them and how. It follows
Vodafone Blacklist which allows customers to bar malicious calls and TXTs and Vodafone Guardian, an Android app which
enables parents to control functionality on their children’s smartphones.
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