Cellphones first became affordable enough for kids when I was in my late teens. I held out until my sophomore year of college, relying on the small campus size and clunky landline and answering machine in my dorm room to facilitate my social life all through freshman year. By the time summer rolled around, I gave in and bought my first LG flip phone.
Now the phone situation is obviously quite a bit different today than it was ten years ago. Everyone and their little sister has a smartphone now, and with the rise of phones has come the rise of texting (and checking Facebook/email/Twitter/Instagram) when you really should be focused on the road. While it’s illegal in many states to do it, that doesn’t mean that millions of Americans aren’t breaking the law – and putting their lives and the lives of others in danger – every day.
I’ll admit, I was texting while driving back when I was a stupid teenager new to the cellphone world. I can only imagine how it is today, when everyone of every age is so much more connected to their phones at all times. That’s why Otto is a great solution for anyone who’s trying to be safer in their cars.
Otto is a hands-free system for the smartphone age. Using voice recognition, Otto lets drivers “read” and respond to text messages without ever taking their eyes off the road or their hands off the wheel. It was developed based on research that has found that voice is the least distracting to drivers when compared with dialing or reaching for a device.
Considering the fact that, according to Otto’s website, you’re 23 times more likely to crash a car if you’re texting, their technology has the potential to save lives.
Otto listens at all times in your car, so that you can let it know when you want to make a phone call or send a text. You can also respond just by talking to it, making it safe and easy to deal with phone calls and messages that just can’t wait until you get home.
While smartphones have undoubtedly upped the likelihood that people will be trying to use their phones while driving, they’ve also created the opportunity for technology like Otto to be developed. There’s no way this would have been possible with that LG flip phone back in 2005.
Protect yourself and the people around you. Go hands-free with Otto.
