MyTeksi Uses Kids' Voices On Waze to Remind Drivers to Drive Safer this Raya

MyTeksi, the homegrown on-demand transport app, announced today that they are adopting the WAZE Safe Mode Kids, to promote road safety amongst its taxi drivers during this Raya. MyTeksi drivers will get timely reminders to drive safer as they brave the balik kampung rush, thanks to the innovative WAZE Safe Mode Kids, a special Waze navigation pack created by Maxis and powered by Malaysian children's voices.

Safe Mode Kids is a first of its kind collaboration between Waze (www.waze.com) and Maxis. Inspired by a survey finding that 97% of Malaysian parents claiming they drive much safer when children are in the car, the Safe Mode Kids project "kid-sourced" voices of Malaysian children aged 3 to 12 to develop an innovative way of reminding parents to drive safer. Safe Mode Kids is the first ever kid-sourced voice navigation globally, and is now extended to more than 50 million Waze users around the world.

Unlike other Waze special voice packs that usually feature a single celebrity voice, Maxis' Safe Mode Kids invited Malaysian children to 'donate' their voices for Waze directional prompts with charming reminders to drive safe. Timely safety tips and reminders such as 'All set. Don’t forget your seatbelt', 'Rerouting. Eyes on the Road!' and "Accident reported ahead. Please be careful, ok?' replace the standard Waze navigation prompts.

"Our focus has always been safer rides. Safe Mode Kids is an unusual and fun way to remind our drivers to always have their eyes on the road and to drive carefully. We want to ensure everyone will balik kampung in a smooth and safe manner," said Cheryl Goh, MyTeksi Vice-President of Marketing.

"We at Maxis are big fans of MyTeksi and how it has changed the way so many Malaysians move around, and we're so glad to be joining forces with them to wish all Malaysians Hari Raya Selamat this year," said Sulin Lau, Head of Marketing Services of Maxis.

The launch of the Safe Mode Voice Global Pack is also timely in view of the festive season which makes up the busiest travel periods of the year.

The 'kid-sourcing' phase started with 100 parents who volunteered their kids. A total of 60 children then auditioned and were given lines to record. 20 voices were finally selected for the voice pack. To see what the kids got up to, click here: https://youtu.be/5PmvJKgetH4.

Here's how to get the Safe Mode Voice Pack:

1)     Download/open Waze

2)    Select Settings

3)    Click on Sound

4)    Go to Voice Language

5)    Select "English (US) – Safe Mode with Kids" (powered by Maxis)