CalAmp Invests In Distracted Driving Technology To Expand Life-Saving Vehicle Safety Suite

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CalAmp (Nasdaq: CAMP), a technology solutions pioneer transforming the global connected economy, today announced it has licensed intellectual property from Katasi, a Colorado-based company, to develop network-based distracted driving avoidance technology as a key component of its expanding vehicle safety application suite.

Distracted driving from mobile texting continues to plague commercial fleet operators and consumers, and presents increasing liability for insurers. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), one in every four motor vehicle crashes involve cell phone use. The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction (CITA) reports that while 98 percent of drivers surveyed believe that texting while driving is dangerous, 66 percent admit to doing so.

The CalAmp distracted driving solution will be available as a standalone, over-the-top micro-service or as part of a bundle with other CalAmp services such as CrashBoxxtm, LoJack® SureDrivetm and CalAmp's fleet management applications. The micro-services will enable CalAmp to deploy driver safety technology to a large percentage of its telematics device installed base.

"Technology plays an enormous role in creating a safer driving environment, and through our growing suite of road safety micro-services, CalAmp is invested in bringing to market solutions to reduce risk on the roads that can save lives," said Michael Burdiek, president and chief executive officer for CalAmp. "We're looking forward to unveiling new and valuable services to our enterprise customers and LoJack subscribers while at the same time making a positive impact on road safety."

Unlike other distracted driving products on the market, Katasi's patented technology works in concert with CalAmp telematics products and paired mobile devices to block text messages at the source network level.  This network-based blocking technology assures a more robust distracted driving avoidance solution for any customer whose telematics services are powered by CalAmp technology. It provides a user experience that is seamless to the driver and is automatically engaged while the vehicle is in motion.

"We all can attest from personal experience that distracted driving is now an epidemic. The business and social costs are staggering; each collision, each loss of life, all the more heartbreaking from a cause that is often simply the temptation to stay connected and not miss out," said Scott Tibbitts, CEO of Katasi. "With CalAmp we are partnering with a leadership team and company similarly committed to provide a truly effective solution to distracted driving avoidance. By deploying their technologies in partnership with US Telco's and Katasi, we can stop distractions before they reach a drivers phone.  We are honored and excited to be working with Michael Burdiek and CalAmp, contributing to "The New How" for saving lives, and making this important technology available to CalAmp customers." 

CalAmp is committed to leveraging its technology to improve road safety by reducing distractions, encouraging safe driving behavior and providing real-time crash response to save lives.  Together for Safer Roads® and CalAmp are collaborating to utilize state-of-the-art telematics and intelligent mobility technology like that enabled by Katasi to minimize driver risk and address strategic road safety challenges.

"Advanced distracted driving technology has tremendous potential to prevent collisions and save lives," said David Braunstein, president of Together for Safer Roads. "We applaud CalAmp for showing their leadership in the road safety community once again. By encouraging adoption across their large vehicle installed base, this move has potential to make a life-saving technology commonplace."

To learn more about CalAmp's suite of micro-services, visit www.calamp.com.

About Katasi
Katasi is a Boulder, Colorado-based technology company founded by executives from the telecom and aerospace industries with the express purpose of creating and deploying technologies to stop distractions to a driver before they reach the drivers phone. Katasi believes that drivers recognize both the danger and temptation of texting while driving and provides tools that eliminate the temptation and help focus on the drive. In partnership with major US and International telecom carriers, Katasi is deploying the world's first network-level distracted driving solution, Groove, regarded by distracted driving experts as the first truly effective technology solution to the growing epidemic of distracted driving.  Visit Katasi at Katasi.com.

About CalAmp
CalAmp (Nasdaq: CAMP) is a technology solutions pioneer transforming the global connected economy. We help reinvent businesses and improve lives around the globe with technology solutions that streamline complex IoT deployments and bring intelligence to the edge. Our software applications, scalable cloud services, and intelligent devices collect and assess business-critical data from mobile assets, cargo, companies, cities and people. We call this The New How, powering autonomous IoT interaction, facilitating efficient decision making, optimizing resource utilization, and improving road safety. CalAmp is headquartered in Irvine, California and has been publicly traded since 1983. LoJack is a wholly owned subsidiary of CalAmp. For more information on CalAmp, visit calamp.com, or LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube or CalAmp Blog.

CalAmp and the CalAmp logo are among the trademarks of CalAmp and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries, and/or the EU. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE CalAmp