At the age of 16, Zach Veach (you can also find him on Twitter and Facebook) has probably spent more time behind the wheel of a car than most of us will in our entire lives. But when he's not racing for Andretti Autosport or writing his own book (99 Things Teens Wish They Knew Before Turning 16 came out this spring), he's a fan of tech toys, just like anyone else. Tecca recently had a chance to catch up with Zach and talk tech.
Zach Veach
Anyone with a smartphone knows that the type of phone you carry is only half of the story: the other half is the apps. And it comes as no surprise that Zach is one of the millions of fans of Angry Birds. "Who doesn't love Angry Birds? I have to say I'm also hooked on Tiny Wings!"
Distracted driving
But being a pro racer isn't all fun and games for Veach. As part of Oprah Winfrey's No Phone Zone initiative, he's been outspoken on the topic of distracted driving — when people are trying to drive while keeping up with text messages, email, and the rest of the information our smartphones offer us. He's even released an app called urTXT on the Android Market to help drivers ignore text messages and focus on the road. But what about iPhone and BlackBerry users?
But being a pro racer isn't all fun and games for Veach. As part of Oprah Winfrey's No Phone Zone initiative, he's been outspoken on the topic of distracted driving — when people are trying to drive while keeping up with text messages, email, and the rest of the information our smartphones offer us. He's even released an app called urTXT on the Android Market to help drivers ignore text messages and focus on the road. But what about iPhone and BlackBerry users?
"With the way the app was originally written, Apple blocked it because it was an automated reply and they consider that to be spam — go figure. Right now with my company ZaAPP, we are working on version two of urTXT to make it better and make it more accessible to more people on multiple interfaces."
Safer driving is as easy as putting down your phone
Of course, safe driving doesn't require any kind of app. "There are really only a handful of safe driving apps out there, but I recommend just putting down the phone while you're driving and focusing on where you want to go. No text message is worth your life."
Of course, safe driving doesn't require any kind of app. "There are really only a handful of safe driving apps out there, but I recommend just putting down the phone while you're driving and focusing on where you want to go. No text message is worth your life."
But smartphones and other portable electronics grow more common by the day; the message to ignore the gadgets we rely on seems like a tough sell. So how does Veach get people to follow through on safer driving?
"It seems like it gets tougher every day to ignore your cell phone while going down the road, but that's why I wanted to create urTXT. My logic was it would be a lot easier to drive safely and ignore your phone when you have an app replying to your texts for you. It's like it's on autopilot! Everybody should put down the phones and drive, so it doesn't take an accident to know how dangerous it can be."
While you might not think to take driving tips from someone barely old enough to have a license, trust us: This is good advice. Your text messages will still be there when you're off the road.
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