There are various mobile apps that try and deter teenagers from texting and speaking on their cellphones while driving. But until this week I hadn't come across any safe driving apps that were actually developed by one of the very teenagers who could theoretically benefit from such an app.

College student Jon Fischer came up with the idea that led to the Speedbump app that launched here at the CTIA trade show in Orlando as a 16 year old preparing for his Lunenburg (Mass.) High School science fair. A local teen had been killed in an accident on just the type of secondary road where many such fatalities occur. Fischer's solution was to not only monitor speeds on highways, but on secondary and residential roads, as well.

Parents can sign into their Speedbump accounts on a computer to customize speed limits on each type of road. If their kid exceeds those predetermined limits, parents will receive alerts on their computers, and emails and texts on their own mobile phones. (Speedbump doesn't actually detect posted speed limits.)

Proud father Dick Fischer, a technology veteran working with his son, says Jon Fischer's idea saves live. Unlike some of the other solutions in the market, Speedbump doesn't lock down a cellphone or actually prevent texting when a teen takes to the wheel (or for that matter is a passenger in a pal's car.) Instead the app is meant to encourage dialog between parents and teen drivers while at the same time protecting the younger person's independence and privacy. So parents only receive instant alerts if their son or daughter disobeys the rules, or happens to be a passenger in a car where the driver is going too fast.

Moreover, though Speedbump can tap into GPS to determine a driver's location, the driver's whereabouts aren't routinely reported to parents. Still, parents can turn on tracking in an emergency. At their end, teens can press a "Check-in" button on the phone when he or she arrives at their destination or press a "Help" button in a dire situation.

Service starts at $9.99 a month. A Distracted Driving feature is included in a premium version called Speedbump Plus that goes for $12.99 a month. If a vehicle is traveling over 10 miles-per-hour and the texting, email or browser app on the phone is open, Speedbump sends a "Distracted Driving Alarm" to the web portal and contacts list.

For now, Speedbump only works on Android devices. Fischer hopes to add an iPhone app down the road.