CAMBRIDGE, MA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/19/12 -- BRIGHTdriver, a startup based near Boston, has developed a completely new way to reduce distracted driving through its smart passenger concept of interactive entertainment. Using high quality audio, voice recognition, and Safe Drive Status, the company has created a way to keep drivers both entertained and engaged during their daily drives.

BRIGHTdriver completed beta testing this summer with 100 drivers; the company launched its consumer application today. "Holiday Rider is a trivia game which tests your holiday knowledge," notes BRIGHTdriver CEO, Jacob Silber. "Whether you're by yourself or with the whole family, it's a great way to get into the holiday spirit."

"What's exciting about our content is that we have designed it for the car," said Matt Albrecht, VP of Product. "We're as safe as the radio, but we're interactive too." Holiday Rider can be downloaded on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/holiday-rider/id586656791

"Based on research from top universities and feedback from our users, we found that inattention is the root cause of distracted driving," said Jacob Silber. "Distraction is a obviously big problem today. There are 138 million daily commuters in America, and 80% are driving solo. By integrating active road monitoring, driver feedback and interactive audio entertainment we're able to optimize driver engagement, while reducing visual distraction like text messages."

BRIGHTdriver is in partnership discussions with major car manufacturers about implementations of its technology. "The Connected Car is coming," said Silber, "but few companies are really re-thinking mobile technology in the car. Our applications are not simply ported from the web, we design with the car in mind."

BRIGHTdriver was founded in 2012 by Jacob Silber, CEO, and Matt Albrecht, VP of Product. Silber is a startup executive with 16 years of experience in commercializing technology. He has an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, an MS in Engineering from the MIT School of Engineering, and an AB from Harvard University. Albrecht co-founded mobile job-matching technology company Assured Labor. He has an MBA from MIT Sloan and a BA from Trinity College. Advisors consist of seasoned executives from institutions such as Intel, PayPal, Harmonix, Hasbro, the MIT Media Lab and Turbine Entertainment.

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