State Farm Insurance Company announced it Android (News - Alert) widget aimed at reducing distracted driving is celebrating the first anniversary.

The On the Move widget is currently being used almost 100 times a day. The service is available free of cost to Android smartphone users as part of State Farm's updated Pocket Agent for Android application.

“Our metrics indicate that a significant number of drivers are using our widget to avoid distracted driving on a daily basis,” said Laurette Stiles, vice president – Strategic Resources at State Farm, in a statement. “It's encouraging to know that this technology is being used to help make our roads safer for everyone. If even one life is saved, we'll be happy we were able to make a difference.”

Leveraging the On the Move widget, Android smartphone users can compose and preload customized messages that can be sent as automated responses to incoming text messages. Users can avoid reading and responding to text messages while driving. Smartphone users can activate the service and let the widget respond for them.

The launch of the app is significant for drivers as the National Safety Council estimates that 200,000 crashes each year are caused by drivers who are texting.

Android owners can create their own responses and save them to a library for future use.  The service works with all incoming texts, or can be limited to senders listed in the user's smartphone address book.

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