OTTER App – Answers texts, Saves Times, Saves Lives

Posted on by Sara

A few weeks ago we wrote about Texting & Driving.
The laws in Massachusetts are pretty strict {and they should be}.
Using your phone while driving is dangerous. You endanger your own life & many many others on the road.
But it’s a distraction, you’re driving along and you hear your phone beep, vibrate, or ring. Who called you? Who texted you? Who emailed you? You want to pick up your phone and see who it was and respond. You don’t want the person to think you’re ignoring them.
In today’s world, we want things now. If you text, call or email someone, they want a response right away.
Well, one person set out to change things.
Erik Wood.
He created the OTTER app
Check out the YouTube video: OTTER app Intro

Below is part of his story about creating the OTTER app.

Erik is father who witnessed his youngest daughter come inches from becoming another statistic in the text and drive epidemic. He designed and built a GPS based app called OTTER (One Touch Text Response) for smartphones that eliminates the need to respond to an incoming text or phone call when driving.   OTTER silences all chimes, ringtones and buzzes when the user’s vehicle exceeds ten miles per hour and sends incoming texts a customizable auto reply.  Unless a Bluetooth is enabled, all calls silently go to voicemail to stop you from fumbling for that ringing phone.  There is also a Parental Control features for teen drivers. 

Erik Wood, of Seattle, Washington, is the founder, he has a background in design systems and project management. He has a BS from California Polytechnic Pomona. Jon Lam of Pasadena, California is a co-founder. He has a BS from Boston University (go Boston Terriers!) and an MBA from the University of Southern California. His background is Finance & Product Marketing.

OTTER was found in November 2009 and launched on the Android in spring 2010. Since then, OTTER was brought to Blackberry and Nokia.


The OTTER app will silence your phone while you’re driving unless you have Bluetooth enabled, so you won’t be distracted by your phone. You can also enable the OTTER app to send automatic text messages to the person who texted you. These text messages can say: I’m driving. I’m in class. I’ll call you on my lunch break. Etc. The text messages are customizable. Check out the app, check out the videos. It’s currently available on Android, Blackberry and Nokia. Hopefully it will be available soon for the iPhone and Win Mobile.

Below are a few more videos about the OTTER app. Check them out.
Nokia Interview with Erik Wood
OTTER on ABC
OTTER on Fox News
OTTER in the UK

Here is a link to the OTTER app press room. It contains many articles written about the OTTER app.
Press Room

Strongly encourage you to check out the app. Hopefully it will come soon to the iPhone.

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