Parents use Milez app to reward teen drivers for each distraction-free trip

Milez is the app used by parents to reward with cash their teen drivers for each distraction-free trip. Parents add funds and every 200 miles Milez sends cash to the teen's PayPal account.

For the teen driver to earn cash, they need to drive with the app on and with a speed above 5 mph. Drivers need to keep the Milez app open and ignore their phone to rack up rewards. If they use other apps or turn off Milez, they stop earning rewards for miles.

Milez is using the technology from SafeDrive app, which has won multiple awards for innovation and social impact.

In the context where more and more accidents are caused by phone distraction, Milez aims to use the technology and rewards in the benefit of safety for other drivers, pedestrians and any other traffic participants.

Milez has used the study done by SafeDrive and a large Dutch insurer where it was proven that rewarding drivers for safe driving can decrease up to 60% phone usage behind the wheel. The study was conducted for 2 months and involved 700 young drivers.

Phone usage while driving has 3 levels of distractions: 1) physical level - by using the hands to type; 2) visual level - by looking at the screen, where the concentration power decreases, and 3) cognitive level.

Recent studies show that to send a message it takes 5 seconds and at a speed of 50 mph the distance driven is more than 300 ft, similar to the length of a football field. Also, texting while driving increases with 23 times the risk of accidents.

Tudor Cobalas, co-founder Milez: "We're happy to have listened to more than 10,000 drivers in the US that pushed us to develop a version for teenagers. 11 teens die daily in the US and many more are injured. We see a big potential in solving this problem by creating a new mean to get cash."

Latest statistics show that in the US there are 45 million teenagers, out of which 27 million have a driving license and 19 million that reported driving in the last 30 days.