Jessamine County Schools will soon advertise a phone app that is meant to decrease distracted driving. 

The request to advertise and promote the LifeSaver App was approved at a Jessamine County School Board meeting on Monday, Nov. 28.

“We were absolutely honored to have the opportunity to post the LifeSaver on the schools websites,” said Kathy Fields, superintendent of Jessamine County Schools. “And hopefully, parents will look at it. We know that if the app keeps just one child safe, we’ve done our job.” 

LifeSaver, a distracted driving solution, was originally brought to local attention during the distracted driving simulation at West Jessamine High and East Jessamine High in October. 

Users can download the smart phone app to prevent calls while a vehicle is in motion. Once a driver installs the application, a parent or loved one can view their usage and behavior through a portal at any time. They can also set guidelines. 

The application notifies users when the devices is unlocked during driving and when the driver has safely reached their destination, according to the LifeSaver website.  

“Schools across the U.S advertise LifeSaver,” Ted Chen, Co-founder of LifeSaver said. “High schools are a great target market for us. But the most effective campaigns are the ones that get to the parents.” 

LifeSaver was established in 2013, in California, and is free to use.

“There are very few people who have the self discipline to not pick up the phone while driving,” Chen said. “There are tools, such as LifeSaver, to help solve this problem and our roads will become much safer.” 

Other places in Jessamine County, such as the Kentucky Sheriff Association, have also endorsed the app, said Jim Howell, vice president of sales and marketing of LifeSaver. 

To view the LifeSaver website or to download the app, visit http://lifesaver-app.com/

“Jessamine county is taking a lead on trying to get the death toll and the accident rates reduced,” Howell said. “Distracted driving is a really serious epidemic.”