BOSTON, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Summer travel just became markedly easier for Boston area residents who can now access the latest local traffic and weather updates without ever touching their mobile phones with this first-ever hands-free audio alert application by Global Alert Network (GAN).

Global Alert Network's audio alert application is free to download and is currently available on BlackBerry and Android devices through AppWorld, Android Market and will be coming to the iPhone soon.

"This Summer, driving without the Global Alert Network app on your mobile phone is like driving without your seat belt - this free application will instantly make your trip safer and make users more aware of the traffic and weather conditions that could affect them," said Scott Hughes, President of Global Alert Network. "We know that Boston area folks love to travel to the Cape and beyond, and every year the brutal traffic conditions are on the top of their complaint lists.  The GAN app will give relevant, hyper-local updates to make every user's commute easier and ensure that you kick off and end your summer vacations with a smooth drive."

The application initiates automatically – much like a ringtone – and plays the audio alert without the need for the consumer to interact with his or her mobile phone.  Click here to hear a sample of an alert. Alerts are geo-targeted to the user's location ensuring timely, accurate information about traffic conditions, weather, or other future services to which the user subscribes.  

"Global Alert Network's highly personalized hands-free audio alerts push incredibly relevant, necessary and potentially life saving information in a way that cuts through to the driver without distracting them," continued Hughes. "Too many drivers today are preoccupied by their mobile devices, which leads to a devastating number of accidents. According to a study by the National Safety Council, 1.4 million crashes annually are caused by mobile phone conversations and 200,000 are blamed on text messaging.  GAN values and promotes driver safety by reducing driver distraction and that was top of mind when designing this application."

Alerts currently available in the Boston area include traffic, weather and certain local emergency information such as Amber alerts. The Company plans to expand its content channels to include sports and news as well.

For more information visit: http://mediakit.globalalertnetwork.com.

About Global Alert Network

Global Alert Network (http://www.globalalertnetwork.com/) is a national mobile platform that provides safe, automatic, hands-free audio alerts to a user's mobile phone.  The app, which is free to download, senses when the user is driving and initiates automatically.  Global Alert Network (GAN) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Traffic Network, Inc. GNET, a leading provider of custom traffic and news reports to radio and television stations.

CONTACTS:
Anne Donohoe / Samantha Wolf
(212) 896-1261/ (212) 896-1220
adonohoe@kcsa.com / swolf@kcsa.com

SOURCE Global Alert Network