By Joy Moton | Staff Writer
Baylor students are promoting an app that is new to Waco and rewards drivers for refraining from texting while driving.
Users can download the free app and receive rewards for safe driving. Safe 2 Save partners with businesses in Waco so that safe drivers can accumulate points and redeem discounts from businesses. The app contains a GPS unit that will display alerts if the driver attempts to text and add points if they successfully drive undistracted.
Marci Corry from College Station started the app because, as a runner, she has seen that accidents occur because of people texting at the wheel.
“You’re 23 times more likely to get in an accident when you’re texting and driving,” said Temple sophomore Tristen Coffee, a general ambassador for Safe 2 Save, citing a statistic on Safe 2 Save’s website.
Coffee said that even though people often think a couple of seconds will not make a big difference, the risk is unpredictable and unfair to others who are on the road.
“I’m passionate about it because you always think, ‘It’s not going to be me,’ but you never know,” Coffee said. “You just can’t predict that, and you’re not only putting yourself in danger, but you’re putting everyone else in danger. Everyone else has lives, families and careers and could be doing nothing wrong, but if you get in a car accident, that could make their lives either end or change detrimentally.”
There are currently more than 15,000 Safe 2 Save users in Bryan and College Station, and now Corry has brought the app to Baylor. San Antonio senior Maryn Macale said Baylor students can benefit from the app by stopping the trend of texting and driving before it gets out of hand.
“I think with college students and millennials, it’s especially common in our generation, because we are the texting generation and so if we raise up a generation for it to be normal for them to text and drive, over the years it’s going to be everyone that’s going to be texting and driving,” Micale said.
According to Boulder, Colo., sophomore Jami Albert, who runs the social media accounts for Safe 2 Save, students will be able to plan their meals around where they accumulate points.
“The app is Android and iPhone compatible, and you don’t have to do anything that’s difficult. You just literally have to not text and drive, which you shouldn’t be doing anyways. You really benefit from it without a lot of work, and it’s going to make your life better because it’s safer,” Macale said.
Ambassadors for Safe 2 Safe are working to partner with more local businesses to inspire drivers to travel safely. Businesses who would like to partner with Save 2 Save can contact Marcy Corry at Marci@safe2save.org.
