Clint Bowyer unveils new safe driving smartphone app

Clint Bowyer has seen a lot of scary moments on race tracks in his career, including the final lap of the 2007 Daytona 500, when he wound up upside down with his car on fire.

But what really scares Bowyer isn't what happens on the race track, it's what happens on public roads, where texting, distracted driving and inattention can be deadly.

To help combat bad driving, Bowyer is working with the folks at Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. on a new smartphone app called HigwayHero that makes drivers more aware of their driving habits and how to improve them.

"This is a must-have for any parent," said Bowyer. "It literally scores your driving. It tracks your driving. All these things that it does are great safety tools for everybody."

Here's how it works:

HighwayHero automatically detects when driving starts and stops by using phone sensors to measure a vehicle's driving dynamics.

It displays trip summaries, maneuvers, details, and provides feedback on how to improve driving skills.

It also acts as a low-power logger of all driving trips.

"It's really, really cool," said Bowyer. "We've been having a lot of fun with it within my organization and my team guys. It does so much, if you really get down to the nuts and bolts of it. There are so many good uses for it."

And Bowyer knows that there's an awful lot of room for driving improvement, especially on public roads.

"From what I see when I get off the race track and on the roads, a lot more people need this ap than what we think."