By: Dylan Sikes - AllPennyStocks.com News

Friday, September 5, 2014

Many people know how distracting it can be to text and drive. Statistics show that the minimal amount of time that a person is not paying attention to driving when texting is five seconds, which at 55 miles per hour means the vehicle just covered the length of a football field. Poignant advertising campaigns regularly publicize how deadly it can be. This week, Colorado’s Christina Jahnz added a new possible outcome from texting, a metal pole in the butt. Jahnz says she was running late to a meeting, sent a voice text and when she looked down to make sure that it went through correctly got into an accident that left her impaled with a piece of guardrail that went through her truck’s headlight, her thigh and buttock and into the seat. Surgeons had to remove the pole. Not only is she lucky to be alive, but there is no permanent damage to her body. Reports say she was going just 20 miles per hour. This story is part of a growing cautionary tale and nationwide initiatives to curtail mobile device uses when behind the wheel. Despite varying laws on using handheld phones or texting while driving (39 states prohibit texting), it still goes on every day. The law firm of Edgar Snyder & Associates, who represent people injured by other people using cell phones, says that at any given time during daylight hours, 660,000 drivers in the U.S. are using their cell phones.

Distracted driving is a reason that companies such as General Motors (NYSE:GM) are reportedly installing sensors in cars that can detect the driver’s eye and head motions to alert them when they’re not paying attention. AT&T (NYSE:T) is beefing up its “It Can Wait” campaign, encouraging users of all ages to use “#X” before they get behind the wheel to tell everyone that they are driving. It’s also a reason upstart Protext Mobility (OTCPK:TXTM) is out marketing DriveAlert, an OBD-II (On Board Driving) technology that helps avoid distracted driving.

Protext also markets SafeText, a solution for parents to combat cyberbullying, “sexting” and distracted driving by children, as well as enterprise solutions for companies to manage employees’ use of mobile devices.

The DriveAlert mobile app restricts access to text messages, e-mails and phone calls while a person is driving and auto-responds to incoming text messages indicating you are currently busy. The application not only blocks text messages, e-mail and phone call activities, but also all applications a driver may be distracted by, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instant Messaging and web browsing while the phone is in motion, according to the Protext website.

Protext stock is getting a big lift on Friday after disclosing that the company has executed new distribution agreements with three New York auto dealerships to sell its OBD-II distracted driving solution. Per the pact, Bright Bay Lincoln, Bright Bay Mazda, both in Bay Shore, NY, and Boulevard Auto World in Queens, NY, will be marketing and selling DriveAlert directly to consumers, with marketing and product information prominently displayed at the dealerships’ welcome desks and throughout the showroom floors.

This is the latest in a string of agreements in 2014 where dealerships have begun marketing DriveAlert. Last month, ProText announced that aggregate initial sales from auto-dealer distributors were in excess of $40,000.

“The dangers of distracted driving continue to be in the national spotlight as this epidemic continues to grow faster than technology can curb the problem. As such, we continue to see strong interest in DriveAlert from multiple market sectors and significantly in the auto dealer industry," commented Steve Berman, CEO of Protext Mobility, in a Friday statement.

Other deals this year have not had a pronounced effect on the stock price, which has steadily slumped from a high of 30 cents in February to subpenny levels. In Friday trading, shares have jumped as high as $0.0023 after closing Thursday at $0.0012. As the day winds towards the closing bell, shares are trading at $0.0016, for a gain of 33 percent.

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