Distracted driving is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 8–29. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), drivers aged 15–20 account for 11% of all distracted drivers in fatal crashes, despite representing only 8% of drivers involved in such accidents. This age group includes 16% of all drivers distracted by cell phones. Even more bleak: 30% of drivers who were using cell phones at the time of a fatal crash fell between the ages of 25–34.
It’s clear that, while we’re all taunted by distractions behind the wheel, the risks for younger, less-experienced drivers are more alarming.
Alert to Solutions
After losing friends and classmates to preventable accidents, Dhruva Valluru had an idea for a solution. Along with friends Gideon Merakanapalli and Shashank Mantrala, Dhruva came up with an aftermarket device that could be added to newer model cars to alert distracted drivers. Their work became the start-up Cubo. Amogh Gotaparthy joined the group earlier this year as COO, with Gideon as CFO, Shashank in the CTO position, and Dhruva in the CEO role.
The company’s primary device, named the Cruise, is designed to deliver an audible alert within 0.8 seconds of detecting signs of distracted or drowsy driving. Viable for most cars released after 2005, this compact device sits on the dashboard and engages above 10 mph. Their prototype device is deployed in a small box and built with a custom PCB and camera.
While there are other alerting tools available standard in some car models, the team believes Cubo goes above and beyond. It’s also an option for older cars that might be missing alerting features.
“The difference between being distracted and a crash is so quick that the solutions we saw on the market, they just wouldn’t suffice,” explains Amogh.
The Cubo Differentiation: Age
One thing these four C-suite executives have in common is their age: They’re each 16 years old, all juniors at Raleigh and Cary high schools.
In fact, these four founders don’t yet have their driver’s licenses. Early prototypes of the Cubo Cruise have been tested on their parents, which hasn’t always been a popular process.
“They (were) extremely annoyed with us because they wanted to use their phones in the car,” Amogh says. “But they would have (the device) because they have no choice except to support us.”
Meanwhile, their age has proven a unique challenge and advantage for running a business. They’re too young to open a business bank account, file a patent application, or even book a hotel. And earlier this year they had to get an exception to attend the popular CES (Consumer Electronic Show) in Las Vegas, where they were exhibiting. The event has an age limit of 18.
Despite these obstacles, there’s no doubt their age draws eyes and opportunities. Among the highlights, the team was recently invited to the UN to speak on the Road Safety Initiative.
“People see us and they see what we’ve done, and then we tell them we’re 16 and they’re like, ‘Wow, this is amazing’,” said Amogh. “The start-up community is a great place. People want to help and especially when you’re 16, they want to mentor you and they want to see you succeed. So, it’s really been great.”
The Road Ahead
Cubo is currently testing their prototypes locally, utilizing partnerships with schools and smaller organizations. But safety is paramount, and the team is testing for lots of different scenarios. The goal is to release a production-ready model in the next six months. And while there are no current plans for future devices, the team hasn’t ruled it out, especially if they’re able to come up with other use cases for their monitoring algorithm.
But they have other distractions as well: namely school, and getting their driver’s licenses.
“We’re (still) just normal high school kids. We hang out with friends every Friday night. We hop on calls. We play video games. We go to school,” said Amogh. “So it’s kind of amazing to have all these experiences.”
Thank you so much for the article, it was a pleasure talking to you!