Samsung In-Traffic Reply App Answers Incoming Calls While You’re Driving

Driverless cars are a permanent solution to distracted driving; or so we keep telling ourselves. The fact is Waymo has just begun its public trials, while other companies’ self-driving vehicles are still encountering bumps in the road. Years could pass until they become common goods. What can we do until then? Besides chugging coffee after coffee to stay alert, it couldn’t hurt to install driver monitoring systems or at least download an app that could look after us (and others). Like Samsung’s upcoming app, In-Traffic Reply #automagic

In-Traffic Reply is Samsung’s latest attempt to reduce the distracted driving rate. Many of us answer calls while driving and some even dare texting back during rides, found a Samsung study.  That is when a tragedy is likely to occur, as the focus is redirected from the street to the smartphone’s screen. To avoid it and still answer urgent calls, Samsung developed an app that does that for you. It automatically activates when it senses that you’re driving or even if you’re on the bike. Then, it sends a default reply like “I’m driving, so I cannot answer at the moment.”, a fun, animated message or a customized one.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because most smartphones offer the possibility of rejecting a call with a pre-set or custom message. But, unlike that option, this app activates automatically so you don’t have to peek at the phone or even touch it.

You might call Samsung’s solution embarrassingly simple. The truth is, if this app manages to keep drivers focused on the road, all while saving a log of their missed calls, then it’s a win-win. Less accidents, same social life.