Digital assistant, Alexa, reviews driver license rules with new Utah drivers

Company Website: http://www.Utah.gov
SALT LAKE CITY -- (Business Wire)

The Department of Public Safety and the Department of Technology Services announced the introduction of a new Amazon Echo driver license practice exam. The added convenience of the voice-activated practice exam allows new drivers to review the rules of the road in the comfort of their homes through Amazon’s voice-controlled speaker and digital assistant, Alexa.

“We’re excited to provide new drivers with added functionality and convenience through Amazon Echo,” said Marissa Villaseñor, Director of Public Relations, Utah Department of Public Safety. “The Echo is an amazing new tool, and we are looking forward to expanding the services we integrate with Echo.”

Alexa, the digital assistant behind Amazon Echo, will help new drivers study for the practice exam by reviewing questions. For example, Alexa might ask, “When approached by an emergency vehicle, the driver must immediately…” and the correct response would be, “Pull to the right and stop.” Test takers respond by voice directly to Alexa. Scores are not saved or recorded for practice tests.

“Digital assistants present an incredible opportunity for simplifying business with state government,” said Mike Hussey, Utah State Chief Information Officer. “We are always looking for new ways to integrate innovative digital solutions and move beyond how we currently help Utahns interact with government.”

In addition, Utah.gov also added a Utah State Facts skill for the Echo. Alexa will share interesting facts about the beehive state.

Utahns can load the skill to the Alexa App on a mobile device.

To learn more, visit Utah.Gov.

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About Utah.Gov

Utah.gov is the entry point to over 1,000 online services and benefits over 2.7 million residents in the State of Utah. Utah.gov provides citizens and businesses with more convenient options for interacting with government. Through Utah.gov, citizens can find public meetings, renew their vehicle registration, buy a hunting and fishing license, register a business, find a transparent state budget, and much more. In 2015 alone, Utah.gov received 21 awards making it the nation’s most honored state website. Utah.gov is managed and operated through a public-private partnership between the state and Utah Interactive, the Salt Lake City-based official digital government partner for the state of Utah. Utah Interactive is part of firm NIC’s family of companies.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation's leading provider of innovative digital government solutions and secure payment processing, which helps make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides digital government solutions for more than 4,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the “100 Best Small Companies in America” six times and the company has been included four times on the Barron’s 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.

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Contacts:

Utah Interactive
Sara Watts, 801-983-0275
General Manager
swatts@utahinteractive.org
or
Department of Technology Services
Stephanie Weteling, 801-538-3284
Public Information Officer
stweiss@utah.gov
or
Utah Department of Public Safety
Marissa Villaseñor, 801-793-8025
Director of Public Relations
mvillasenor@utah.gov

Source: Utah Interactive