KPN Safe Lock

To keep kids’ smartphones from distracting them while they ride their bicycle, we made the distractions completely disappear. We enhanced the KPN cellular network, enabling it to temporarily block all data- and voice communication to a smartphone, and developed a bicycle lock - the Safe Lock - that acts as a binary switch. When the lock is open, all data- and voice communication to and from the child’s smartphone is temporarily blocked. Close the lock, and kids can freely use their smartphone again. This type of lock is standard on Dutch children’s bikes, so they won’t need to learn any new habits in order to switch the functionality off or on. In case of an emergency, the alarm number can still be reached. With the Safe Lock, KPN has become the first telecom provider in the world to increase the traffic safety of its youngest users by temporarily blocking their cellular network.

INSIGHTS

The Safe Lock will be sold in all KPN Stores for an estimated retail price of €100, starting in 2018. The first Safe Lock was released in June 2017. Its introduction was widely reported by both national and international press, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Verge, and reached over 180 million people worldwide.

The initial press release also issued an open invitation to telecom providers worldwide, to collaborate with us on the introduction of this solution around the globe. We believe that this innovation can be implemented in a wide range of transportation modes, including cars, and offers a powerful solution to a problem that will become increasingly urgent in the years to come. Especially among younger drivers.

Our challenge was to reduce smartphone-related accidents among kids riding their bicycle, which are rising fast in the Netherlands. In order to find out what was causing them, we studied the effects of smartphones on traffic safety among children, in partnership with a neuroscientific research institute, and found that smartphones pose a constant threat of distraction to cycling children - even when they aren’t using them. Notifications like WhatsApp messages immediately reduce their focus on the traffic around them. Kids can’t help being curious, and smartphone notifications demand instant attention.

Current options to block distractions or limit the usability of smartphones are limited. And apps or recent innovations such as Apple’s Car Mode or Samsung’s Do Not Distract mode either need to be turned on manually, which is easily forgotten or can simply be switched off. An irresistible temptation for a generation that always wants to stay in touch with their friends.

Jury feedback

IMPACT / SILVER

This idea is brilliant by its obviousness. It also has the biggest

Impact because it is a big group of people that would use it. It is so good it should be a law, it’s should be obliged for people to use this.

PRODUCT / BRONZE 

It innovates and inspires the industry by developing an open source solution. We feel this is a way of applying creativity to make a meaningful difference in society.