LDS siblings Madelyn Erekson and Klay Erekson have created a unique way for drivers to avoid texting and driving.
Nineteen-year-old Madelyn Erekson of Mesa, Arizona, learned last April that every day, 11 teenagers die in the United States as a result of texting and driving (see textinganddrivingsafety.com).
Knowing how dramatic of an influence texting behind the wheel can have on communities and lives, she and her older brother, Klay, decided to try to make a difference by creating a mobile application that rewards drivers for locking their phone behind the wheel.
The app, Aryv, pronounced “arrive,” made its iPhone debut in November, and is now available for Android phones.
Madelyn Erekson had the idea for the app and brought it to Klay Erekson, now 23, who is studying electrical engineering at Brigham Young University.
“The idea is that we are rewarding people for safe driving in order for them to start making it a habit. You are learning to be a safe driver, so why not get rewarded along the way,” Klay Erekson said in a phone interview with the Deseret News.