By MEGAN WILSON
A LOCAL lifesaver and paramedic have joined forces to save lives on Noosa roads, with the launch of the Make a Pact app.
Local Sunshine Beach volunteer lifesaver Rob Walter and long-term friend and paramedic Geoff Monohan are encouraging Noosa locals to make a pact to stop using their phone while driving and help reduce the number of accidents on Noosa roads.
During his career as a paramedic, Geoff said he had seen many car accidents resulting from the driver being distracted by their mobile phone, so he reached out to Noosa local Rob nine months ago and together they created the life-saving app that recently launched on the Sunshine Coast.
The Make a Pact app is the only one of its kind and automatically turns on and off once the user begins to drive and silences all incoming calls and texts to prevent the driver from checking their phone while on the road.
The app also sends an automated message to all callers to let the sender know the driver is on the road and will even send an email to a nominated person if the driver accesses their phone while driving.
Rob said the app was part of a social media campaign aimed at breaking the habit of drivers constantly checking their mobile phones while in the car.“Our goal is to change people’s behaviour and habits while driving,” he said.
The app launched two weeks ago and already has 210 pacts and Rob said he expects this number will only grow as the campaign takes off.
“The first stage of the campaign is to launch the Make a Pact app through social media,” Rob said.
“The next step is to use police and ambulance officers to educate young drivers through presentations.”
Rob hopes to utilise local police and ambulance officers to educate young drivers while still at school using the app as a relatable tool.
The Make a Pact app is available for Android handsets at Google Play or visit www.makeapact.com.au for more information and to download the app.
