WEST ALLIS, Wis. — TrypScore is a new app that, if downloaded, developers hope could help make streets safer.
"We wanted to change the narrative a little bit," said Bill Bland, the app's developer. "For the past 100 years, people have been trying to change driving behavior with speeding tickets and insurance premium increases and we said, you know what? Let's do something different. Let's reward people for safe driving."
He said they gamified safe driving by using the app to monitor people's behavior while behind the wheel, then offering scores that can lead to prizes when good behavior is consistent.
"So, every time you go out and drive, we've made it a game where you can level up in the game and you can enter contests and get discounts and collect rewards," said Bland.
The rewards and prizes typically include things like gift cards that range from $50 to $500. But bigger prizes include having your car payments, insurance, and gas paid in full for up to a year.
"Gamification is big right now," said Bland. "A lot of the elements that we have in the videos are like a TikTok type video that you can watch, so we're really appealing to a generation."
TrypScore is expanding fast. Bland said the app has been downloaded in roughly 40 states, including here in Wisconsin.
In addition to working with the Coalition for Safe Driving MKE, Bland has also built a bond with Melissa Donley, an owner of Arcade Driving School in West Allis.
"We decided to give it a shot and have our students start downloading it," said Donley.
So far, she said it's been a hit.
"It's definitely something that the kids think is cooler than some of the other apps," she said. "It's just more engaging for them. It's more fun for them because they're benefitting from it and they're actually seeing in real-time how they are doing."
TrypScore can be a reminder for adults to monitor their own behavior, too.
"You can even make a game out of it," Donley said. "A little competition between parent and student and it rewards them."
Perhaps one of the biggest takeaways is that the app stays with young drivers even after they embark on their own.
"It goes beyond Drivers Ed. So, they get their driver's license, and then what? Well, they can start to develop bad habits. This kind of stops them from doing that and really allows them to self-monitor their driving skills," said Donley.
The app also never sells or gives away your data and runs in the background while you're driving, so no need to worry about your data plan being used up while you're on the go, according to Bland.
If you'd like to learn more about TrypScore and how to download the app, visit TrypScore's website.
