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Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Maxis Waze Safe Mode Kids : Making Drive Safer

Safe Mode Kids is a first of its kind collaboration between Google-owned Waze and Maxis.

Inspired by a survey finding that 97% of Malaysian parents claiming they drive much safer when children are in the car, the Safe Mode Kids project "kidsourced”voices of Malaysian children aged 3 to 12 to develop an innovative way of reminding parents to drive safer.

Different from other Waze special voice packs that usually feature a single celebrity voice, Maxis’ Safe Mode Kids invited different children to donate their voices for Waze directional prompts with charming reminders to drive safe. Instead of the standard Waze navigation prompts you will hear: ‘All set. Don’t forget your seatbelt’, ‘Rerouting. Eyes on the Road!’ and “Accident reported ahead. Please be careful, ok?”


The launch of Safe Mode Kids is also timely in view of the festive season which makes up the busiest travel periods of the year.

The ‘kidsourcing’ phase started with 100 parents who volunteered their kids. A total of 60 children then auditioned and were given lines to record. 20 voices were finally selected for the voice pack. To see what the kids got up to, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PmvJKgetH4


Here’s how to get the Safe Mode Kids voice pack :
1) Download/open Waze
2) Select Settings
3) Click on Sound
4) Go to Voice Language
5) Select “English (US) – Safe Mode with Kids” (powered by Maxis)

For more information, please visit www.maxis.com.my/safemode

They’re counting on you, think about your kids!
I had my fair share of distracted driving many years ago when mobile phones were more easily accessible and owned. Texting while driving and talking on the phone were a norm. Until I realised just how dangerous that was. Then smart phones became the next big thing and obviously with GPS-enabled apps, we started to fiddle more with the phone while driving. Voice feedback is good, but it only does that much to take away potential distraction on the road. 

On a personal level, I've not used Waze for the past 3 years, as I've adopted the "engine on, phone off" policy. However, this collaboration between Maxis and Waze does piqued my interest to try it out one more time. 

Having voices of kids is good especially when you are driving alone - as a reminder of your own kids at home. If you are single or have not started a family, you may have nephews or nieces that you adore. 

If you are a long time user of Waze, this initiatives by Maxis may just help you to drive a bit safer and potentially remind you of those precious cargoes at home. 

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on distracted driving, and what you are doing to reduce or eliminate them; I would love to hear from you.

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