Zach Veach: A 15-Year-Old Takes on Texting and Driving

In an effort to prevent teens from texting and driving, 15-year-old race-car driver Zach Veach has released an Android app that responds automatically on the road -- so they don't have to.

By Lauren Drell

Posted 9/ 23 10 at 11:00 PM | Entrepreneur Spotlight, Technology, Starting a Business, Online Business, Media, Software, Telecommunications, Inventions & Innovations

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On the right track: 15-year-old race-car driver Zach Veach developed an Android app to prevent texting and driving.

Zach Veach is an Andretti Autosport driver in Road to Indy, a four-tier program designed to take kids from go-karting to full-fledged professional racing. He's teammates with Go Daddy spokeswoman Danica Patrick, one of the sport's biggest names and the first woman to win an Indy car race. And because he spends so much time behind the wheel, he's become a champion for safe driving, as the "spokeskid" for Oprah's "No Phone Zone" anti-texting campaign.

To help further the cause, he recently developed his own Android app, urTXT, which sends an automated reply to any texts drivers receive, letting the sender know that they are behind the wheel and will respond when they get off the road. He's also set to release his first book, a survival guide of sorts for teens.

Oh, and did we mention he's not even old enough to have a driver's license? That's right, the Stockdale, Ohio, native is just 15 years old.

So you're a race car driver who also built an app and now you have a book coming out. All before your 16th birthday.

I saw that with my passion for racing, I could bring awareness to safe and text-free driving. With the book, I was trying to do something that would help people my age who are going through the some things I am.

What inspired the app, urTXT?

There was a crash close to my home in Ohio a few years ago. A 16-year-old girl who only had her license for two months was texting, and she pulled out in front of a tractor-trailer semi. She died in the accident, and I decided I wanted to bring awareness to the cause. Then I saw Oprah's No-Phone Zone, so that inspired me to go out and get signatures from Indy drivers and other people. This year, I have Ziggy's Teen Safe Driving Campaign, which offers seminars about safe driving for teens in cities where I'm competing. I felt if I could bring along a Droid application, it would help get the message even further.

Did you develop urTXT yourself or did you work with developers?

I developed it. It took a couple weeks of learning how to code, but I was really determined to get this out there because I wanted to save lives. There's a website called DroidDeveloper.com where you can download a Droid software development kit, and it has all the tools you need to create an app. I just learned how to do write code from the Droid forms and from doing some research on the Web.

Then what?

I took it to the Droid marketplace, so once you create your app,, you send it to Droid, they go through it and make sure it abides by their rules and then once they approve it, it goes to the store. It went live in the marketplace in June, and we've sold a couple hundred. It costs 99 cents, and all the benefits go to FocusDriven. We were very lucky to find a group like FocusDriven – they're great people and it's an honor to be a part of the only organization that advocates for distracted-driving victims.

Now, you're only 15 years old, so you don't even have a driver's license. How are you a race-car driver?

There's basically a driver's license for race-car drivers, and we go through a driving test. We go to a track with Indy officials and they see our performance on-track and watch how we handle a car. As long as it's above their standards, they allow you to drive a race car. The only thing different than getting your real license is that we don't have a driver's ed course.

Have you ever driven on actual roads?

It's funny you ask. Yesterday, I was in Washington for a distracted drivers conference, and on the flight home, the right engine of our plane exploded -- something malfunctioned and caused the engine to detonate and quit, so we had to limp back to airport. My dad and I rented a car, and I have my learner's permit, so we took turns driving from D.C. to Ohio. I'm enrolled in a driver's ed course that starts in October, and I'm going to get my driver's license when I turn 16 in December.

Your book will be released this fall. What it is about?

99 Things Teens Wish They Knew Before Turning 16 is kind of like the go-to guide for 16-year-olds. There's a chapter in there about distracted driving, but it's about handling the pressures of being 16 – like how to avoid peer pressure -- and the last chapter is about how you can plan ahead for college. What inspired the book is that I really wanted other teens to have something to look at as a guide. I travel a lot and I've been around a lot of different people, and I use my experience so other teens can just go to the book and see how to handle different situations.

With the app, the racing career and the budding book career, it seems like you're a busy young entrepreneur. Do you have time for friends?

I went to school until 8th grade, when my racing career took off and I had to switch to an online school, but I still have some friends from my old school. I really look to my racing friends more than anything. We all understand each other and we're going through the same things with traveling and racing, and I think it really bonds us together.

Do you come from an entrepreneurial family?

Yes, my dad wrote his own software for my grandma and grandpa's trucking company. From that, he got the desire to go into computers and he started his own computer consulting firm, and now he has clients all over the U.S., so I kind of just took after him and I wanted to work as hard as he did.

Entrepreneur Spotlight

Name: Zach Veach

Company: urTXT

Age: 15

Location: Stockdale, Ohio

Founded: 2010

Employees: None

2010 Projected Revenue: Undisclosed

Website: www.zachveach.com

Tags: Andretti Autorace, Android, Android app, Droid, Droid app, DroidDeveloper.com, Entrepreneur Spotlight, IndyCar, Mobile, Oprahs No-Phone Zone, texting and driving, urTXT, Zach Veach

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Comments (Page 1 of 3)

MelLSilva 9-25-2010 2:12PM

There is no question texting is super dangerous to do while driving and should be a violation...but there is a big difference in Texting and talking on a phone while driving. They should not be in the same league. I was in law enforcement for many years and there is no diffence in talking on my 2 way radio and talking on a cell phone and if someone can't drive and talk at the same time, they shouldn't be allowed to drive at all, make that part of the driving test. There is just as much distraction in talking to a passenger as there is in talking on the phone. We are losing our freedoms, remember when cops were not going to stop you for not wearing your seatbelt as a primary infraction, now they are looking in our windows to see if we are wearing a belt...I am for not allowing dialing a phone while driving, that is easily remedied by voice actuation, but answering a phone and talking while driving is not a safety hazard....

psa 9-26-2010 8:33PM

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Rcdprsl 9-26-2010 9:09PM

Great job young man. You are a caring person. We need more like you!

Rcdprsl 9-26-2010 9:13PM

Great job young man. We need more people like you to step to the plate.

Dana 9-26-2010 11:27PM

It has been proven that talking on the phone while driving is different from talking to a passenger. Passenger is present, on the scene with you, and that makes a difference when maneuvering traffic. It has to do with passenger awareness of what is happening in the immediate vicinity. Someone on phone does not have that awareness. It changes awareness and reaction time.

William 9-25-2010 3:49PM

The statement by the gentleman in law enforcement regarding talking on a cell phone while driving is incorrect: indeed, it has been researched that operating a cell phone while driving is the equivalent of driving under the influence of two alcoholic beverages. Cell phone use while driving in Denver by teens, as well as texting for all ages, has been illegal for several months now and the lowering of the distraction level on the highways s has been dramatic. So justify the continued use of your digital binky while driving if you must ... I will continue to be twice as cautious when I see you approaching from the front or in my rear view mirror with that nonsensical 4 degree head tilt cradling your cell.

dkp50 9-25-2010 5:01PM

Talking on your Cell Phone is Not a Problem for MEN,
For Women talking to their Teenage Girls? It's a Different issue..

punkswag 9-26-2010 10:08PM

wow, sexist much? It's the same issue no matter what gender you are. If you want to seperate genders, then wouldnt females be more skilled at it? They obv do it more (in your opinion), by now they should be highly trained then lol. Its dangerous for everyone, being a male or female doesnt mean anything at all. Morons..

jim baurle 9-25-2010 5:02PM

Wiiliam, now now pull the cork out of your ass and let some of that false pride air out.

MelLSilva 9-25-2010 10:04PM

How do you call in the report the infraction of someone using a cell phone, on your cell phone? LOL

dkp50 9-25-2010 5:03PM

Well, in our town? We have a Bounty on anyone using a Cell Phone while Driving a vehicle..
$25 reward..
Only the Tourist now get caught..
I made over $350 this yr already!

anita 9-27-2010 1:57AM

i like that one maybe i should move to your town

DianaLJohnson 9-27-2010 4:40PM

BOUNTYS: GRRRRRRRR8 IDEA!

dougsgirl1975 10-28-2010 8:33AM

Damn, dkp50.......You are a apparently a chauvinistic misogynist.....Not ALL women are incapable of multitasking while driving. I was an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) for YEARS and I am capable of driving a big box truck ambulance at high rates of speed while driving in the wrong lane in oncoming traffic (to get around the traffic in my lane that won't move because they are oblivious idiots who are most likely TALKING OR TEXTING) and working the siren at the same time, and I have NEVER, EVER been in an accident while doing so!!!...AND YES, I AM A WOMAN!!! So DON'T make generalizations about "ALL women" because "ALL women" are NOT the same.....BUT it is STUPID for ANYONE, whether male OR female to be talking or texting while driving!!!! I've NEVER done so, and NEVER will! I have a bluetooth, and voice dial set up whenever I am on the road...

canwebesure 9-25-2010 7:38PM

Great and big deal like Oprah. Talk and apps write books, help the kids to act with consideration, compassion and common sense.
When that is done what are you going to do with all the stupid adults? They walk out their doors with a cell stuck to their ear, drive, talk, text, return home, same cell stuck to their ear.
What is missing in their sorry lives?

arakuzi 9-25-2010 9:39PM

FUNNY THING IS...Every time I spot a police car, the cop is talking in the cell phone...and don't come tell me that they are "trained" for that either!!!
Tex ting of course is the worst, both should not be allowed while driving, period...want to talk in the phone? pull over!
For those that think it is to extreme, wait till someone that you know or love get killed by a moron driving while in the phone! and remember, driving is not your right but your privilege..anywhere.

Larry 9-26-2010 8:23AM

I drive a lot. My observations of bad drivers from best to worst:
1. Both hands on wheel and no apparent phone calling taking place
2. Eating/drinking while driving--only occasionally do I see bad driving here and usually while trying to turn and hold food/drink without dropping. Spilled food/drink could lead to an immediate accident like falling asleep but I haven't seen that in person yet
3. Both hands on wheel and hands-free phone call taking place (best I can tell)
...and here is where I see really bad driving begins, i.e. crossing lane lines on highway, not noticing lights change color, turning unsafely in front of traffic:
4. One hand on wheel and one hand holding phone while making call
5. Texting while driving--without a doubt the worst and rudest drivers on the road.
6. Reading paper, book, notes, etc... while driving--unfortunately I saw an accident that was later on TV as a 4 fatality accident occur by a drive passing me reading a book rested on the steering wheel while he was driving. He looked like an average nice guy on the way home from work (maybe to his wife and kids?) and nobody deserved an end like that but the really innocent family in the van he rear-ended and killed certainly had no choice. He did.

wilkesgm 9-26-2010 8:09PM

This is nonsense. If talking on a phone is so dangerous, they why don't they ban police and fire personnel from talking while responding to emergencies? Do you routinely see cop cars in accidents with the same rate as drivers with two drinks in them? Nope. That's because the real reason people get in accidents is mostly distractions - and an inability to pay attention to their driving. Whether it's a big mac or a phone conversation is irrelevant. The issue of texting is different - you have to take your eyes off the road to text. When I make a call, my blue-tooth has voice recognition. I push one button and say the name of the person I'm calling. Done. I am more distracted by operating the radio - and I'll be that if you knew the truth, car stereos probably cause more accidents than cell phones.

theriteone 9-29-2010 2:18PM

Idiot, the emergency vehicles have sirens and lights blasted that command YOU pay attention and get out of their way-they also need to communicate with other emergency personnel while in transit. Think!