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State Farm encourages safety via Android app

State Farm is providing users with individual feedback about their driving habits and offering tips on how they can drive more safely via a new Android application.

The Driver Feedback app is available for free download in Google?s Android Market. Additionally, the app is also available to iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users.

?Driver Feedback is already available on iOS and by making it available on Android, it provides a larger audience the opportunity to benefit from the application,? said Eli Winn, manager of enterprise Internet solutions at State Farm, Bloomington, IL.

?We continue to expand our mobile offerings focusing on providing useful tools and functionality for our customers,? she said. ?This app aims to make drivers aware of their specific driving behaviors, encourage improvement, and reduce their overall crash risk.?

State Farm Insurance claims to have 17,800 agents that serve 81 million policies in the United States and in Canada.

Safety first
The Driver Feedback app uses the device?s accelerometer to measure three essential driving behaviors ? acceleration, braking and cornering.

When users activate the app, at the end of each trip they are provided with a score and a log of potentially dangerous driving activities.

Additionally, if the app detects risky driving behaviors, it provides users with tips on improvement.

Via the app, drivers can record trips and receive feedback on their driving performance.

The app also features a map that illustrates where potentially dangerous driving activities have occurred.

There is also a trip completion notification that lets users send a text or email someone when they have safely completed their trip.

?State Farm is a leader in mobile insurance capabilities,? Ms. Winn said. ?We continue to listen to customer feedback and provide tools and capabilities that utilize new technologies.

?This allows us to provide the best possible customer experience with our mobile offerings,? she said.

Teen safety
State Farm also believes that the Driver Feedback app is a good tool for parents teaching teens how to drive.

Both teen drivers and parents can receive non-biased driving feedback and the app helps parents educate users on driving safely.

?We want our customers to have 24/7 access to State Farm by allowing them to retrieve information and transact with anytime, anywhere,? Ms. Winn said.

?By increasing our mobile capabilities, our customer can interact with us through our mobile applications and our mobile Web site at their convenience,? she said.