Brussels, Belgium,
15
November
2016
|
14:48
Europe/Amsterdam

2016 Final Results of the Driving Barista Application Project Aiming to Prevent Smartphone-Related Traffic Accidents

Toyota Motor Corporation Komeda Co., Ltd. KDDI Corporation - Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), Komeda Co., Ltd. (Komeda), and KDDI Corporation (KDDI) have announced the final results of their joint project using a smartphone application called Driving Barista.The aim of the project is to help reduce the number of traffic accidents in Aichi Prefecture caused by drivers using their smartphones while driving.

Number of times the application had been downloaded approx. 37,000 times
Cumulative total distance driven approx. 2.6 million km
Number of coffee coupons issued1 approx. 20,000 cups
Number of coffee coupons redeemed approx. 8,200 cups

Reference: Project duration

Application download period: Starting September 20, 2016

Application usage period: From September 20, 2016 to October 6, 2016

Coffee coupon redemption period: From September 20, 2016 to October 31, 2016 

The project offered coupons that could be redeemed for free coffee to drivers who had covered a set distance without using their smartphones while they were behind the wheel. The drivers who used this application during the running period covered a cumulative distance of about 2.6 million kilometers?the equivalent of about 65 trips around the earth.

This application which involves a car manufacturer, a coffee store chain, and a telecom provider, offered a novel experience. Toyota, Komeda, and KDDI believe that the application helped to encourage safer driving in Aichi Prefecture, and also helped underscore awareness of the need to prevent smartphone-related traffic accidents. The usefulness of this project to help mitigate a social issue will be gauged from the perspective to achieving a safer and more secure society.

Project Manager of the BR J-ReBORN Department at Toyota, Nishiuchi Ritsuko was pleased to report that, "We are happy that the app was able to help increase awareness of the need for safer driving not just for actual application users, but also through social media. We would like to continue to pursue a range of initiatives with an objective of eliminating fatalities and injuries resulting from traffic accidents."

Managing Director Masashi Komanba of Komeda said, "We are very happy that providing tasty coffee to people was a way of helping to reduce the number of traffic accidents in our home prefecture, Aichi."

The General Manager of the CSR and Environment Management Department at KDDI, Torimitsu Kentaro, said, "Cars, coffee, and smartphones are an unusual combination. It was a novel and fun attempt to prevent smartphone-related traffic accidents, one where we were able to educate a large number of people. We are striving to apply new ideas to help solve social issues."

Satoru Iida, who heads the traffic safety office at the Traffic Department of the Aichi Prefectural Police Headquarters, stated, "Although we don't yet know about the effectiveness of this project, in the 17-day period that distances could be covered with this application, we made fewer arrests involving motorists using smartphones while driving, as compared to the 17-day period before it had started. It was a unique initiative which harnessed the use of a smartphone app. We believe that this project has helped to increase awareness about traffic safety among many drivers."

1The ratio of first coupons to subsequent coupons was 72:28

Please refer to the following link for more information on the project http://newsroom.toyota.co.jp/en/detail/13686673/