If you're the sort of person who's tempted to take calls while driving -- or worse, answer text messages -- there are dozens of apps to help curb your addition. Now, Sprint is making the process even easier by pre-installing the Drive First app on every Android phone.

Drive First works like many other anti-distracted-driving apps we've seen, including PhoneGuard, SafeCell, and DriveSafe.ly. When the phone's accelerometer registers a certain speed (usually around 10 mph), it automatically shuts off most features: incoming calls are sent straight to voicemail; text-message alerts are turned off and an auto-response tells the sender that the phone's owner is currently unavailable; and most apps are disabled, too.

Drive First does have a few interesting differences, though: it allows users to pre-select three apps for use while driving (e.g. Google Maps or other navigation services), and it allows the sender to communicate with three pre-selected contacts (e.g. parents, spouses, employers). Also, instead of paying for the app outright, users pay a monthly fee. At $2 a pop -- per phone, plus tax -- that could generate some sizable cash for Sprint.

We should point out, however, that even though Drive First will come pre-installed on Sprint phones, it won't be automatically activated; users will have to opt-in to the service. Nevertheless, we expect a fair number of folks to do so, especially parents and bosses. We also expect other wireless providers to offer similar services soon -- especially AT&T, given the extra mouths it now has to feed.

Drive First should be available on Sprint's Android handsets during the third quarter of 2011. For the curious, we've pasted an official press release below.

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