A new six-week campaign using a smartphone app aims to find “Cayman’s Safest Driver.”

Insurance firm Saxon launched the campaign on Friday, Oct. 26.

The company is urging drivers to download its “Safest Driver” app, which was developed by Cambridge Telematics. The app scores drivers on five categories – phone distraction, speeding, cornering, acceleration and braking.

“Every year we see an increase in traffic accidents around the start of the holiday season. This app is designed to reward drivers for making smart decisions on the road and spread awareness around road safety,” said Saxon’s Marketing Manager Crystal Gomez.

At the end of the campaign, a winner can claim a grand prize and the title of “Cayman’s Safest Driver.” The winner will be announced on Friday, Dec. 7.

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“The beauty of this promotion is that the public will inevitably decide the overall cash grand prize. The more participants that download the app, the larger the cash prize becomes,” Ms. Gomez said. “Participants will have the opportunity to win up to $10,000 in cash and prizes throughout the competition, with Saxon contributing $1 for every participant download.”

The “Safest Driver” app, which can be downloaded in the App and Google Play Stores, runs off the vibrations in the driver’s car and scores each trip or journey throughout the day. After a journey, participants are scored and provided with feedback on unsafe driving behavior so that improvements can be made for the next trip.

Participants also receive achievement badges as rewards for reaching safe driving goals.

Drivers who have the app can form closed groups to compete against friends and family, or local businesses can get involved and start their own safest driver promotion among their staff. The app features a leaderboard which can display the safest overall driver, the least distracted driver and who is leading within that group.

Nick Brierly, Saxon’s chief financial officer, said employees at the company had recognized a growing problem and “saw the need for a solution.”

“This promotion is just the first of many initiatives Saxon plans on rolling out to promote safe driving. We also host a Driver’s Education program in the local schools to promote safe driving habits from an early age. The Cayman’s Safest Driver app will allow us to combine innovation, community values, safety and prevention all in one and we hope that everyone gets involved to keep the roads safer this holiday season,” said Saxon CEO Brian Williams.

Participants do not need to be Saxon customers to take part.

Asked if insurance premiums of drivers whose less-than-stellar driving skills are recorded by the app would be affect, Ms. Gomez said, “Absolutely not,” adding that Saxon only sees the final score of participants and not any individual category. “That’s for the participants’ eyes only,” she said.

The app information “will not impact insurance premiums or will not be shared with the RCIPS,” she added.

For more information on the Cayman’s Safest Driver promotion and to download the app, visit www.drivesafe.ky.