A NEW smartphone app has been released that includes alerts to motorists about to enter a school zone.
NSW Deputy Premier and Oxley MP Andrew Stoner said the best advice to avoid a speeding fine was not to speed but for those who wanted to be extra sure the new app would literally warn them with an audio alert.
“For those motorists who don’t see school zone signs or flashing lights there is now the Speed Adviser App which will literally tell you via an audio warning that you are entering a school zone,” he said.
“It is the only app of its kind and is available free from the app store with an Android version also in development for release soon.
“The app also alerts drivers when a speed limit changes and warns drivers if they exceed the speed limit.
“Motorists on the Mid North Coast can set it before they leave and it will provide audio alerts. There is no need to interact with the app at all while driving, in line with laws applying to mobile phones and GPS devices.”
The government has also launched an emergency smartphone app.
When activated, the Emergency+ app provides users with their GPS reference which they can verbally provide to an emergency call taker to pinpoint their physical location.
More than 65 per cent of calls to Triple-zero are made from mobile phones and sometimes mobile phone users are not aware of their physical location – making it difficult for emergency call operators to accurately and quickly dispatch emergency services.
This app solves this problem by providing callers with the ability to verbally provide emergency call operators with their location information as determined by their smartphone’s GPS capability.
The app also contains the emergency contact numbers and a short explanation of when to call non-emergency numbers such as the Police Assistance Line (131 444) and the SES national number (132 500).
This is to help members of the public dial the correct number and reduce the number of calls to the Triple-zero service that should be directed to another service.
The Emergency+ app is available free of charge on iOS and Android devices through the Google Play store and the Apple App Store.
The development of the app was funded through a National Emergency Management Project grant.
