Samsung To Release Auto-Reply App That Keeps Drivers' Eyes On The Road

Samsung wants to fight distracted driving with its new upcoming app. Called In-Traffic Reply, the app is able to send automatic replies when users receive a message on their smartphones.

Samsung’s In-Traffic Reply app activates by itself when it detects that the user is riding a bike or driving a car. The app is able to do this through the smartphone’s sensors like GPS, which is now a common feature on most smartphones these days.

Once the In-Traffic Reply app is activated, it will automatically reply to messages received with the default reply: “I’m driving, so I cannot answer at the moment.” Users also have the option of customizing the pre-set message, or have the app reply to messages with what Samsung’s says is a “fun, animated response." The auto-reply feature works for phone calls as well. It's presumed that the automatic activation of the app can be disabled if a user is simply a passenger onboard.

Samsung’s upcoming app isn’t really an original idea. There’s already an app called SMS Auto Reply that’s been on the Google Play Store for years now. Even Google’s Android Auto has a similar feature, as pointed out by Android Authority.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that there are around 660,000 people in the United States that use their phones while driving at any given daylight moment, as reported by CNET. In 2015, distracted driving also caused 3,477 deaths in the U.S.

If Samsung is able to help reduce those numbers with its new app, then it really isn’t a bad idea. With Samsung’s name attached to the app, this could also mean that more users could be exposed to the idea of auto-replying to messages while driving.

Samsung’s In-Traffic Reply app is currently in beta, and the company says that it will release the full version of the app around “mid May” in the Google Play Store.