After a career speeding to fires, this senior fireman has an app to keep speed within limits
Our special guest in this episode is inventor and firefighter, Steve Grealy. What attracted us to Radar Reminder is the way Steve encounters problems or challenges and then investigates way to solve them.
In particular, his pair of anti-speeding apps grabbed our attention, which we go into in some detail in our chat.
The SA Drink Of The Week is a Howard Vineyard 2020 Shiraz, tasted with guests from another South Australian podcast.
And in the Musical Pilgrimage, we have a song by Jennifer Trijo.
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Running Sheet: Radar Reminder App By SA Firefighter Turns Hose On Speeding
00:00:00 Intro
Introduction to the show.
00:03:10 SA Drink Of The Week
This week’s SA Drink Of The Week is a Howard Vineyard 2020 Shiraz, tasted with Belle Baker from the Adelaide Hills Farmcast (a great local podcast if you’re a lifestyle farmer in the Adelaide Hills) and her guest for her upcoming July episode, Alex Thomas. Alex is a sought-after speaker in the realm of practical farm safety and her website is well worth a visit: Alex Thomas.
00:09:13 Steve Grealy
In Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, he shares and anecdote about finding ways to overcome our weaknesses. For example, by putting important things you need for a meeting the next day by your front door, means you won’t rush off and forget them. In a similar way, senior firefighter, Steve Grealy, has applied this thinking to speeding. He knows he’s got an inclination towards being a leadfoot BUT he 100% determined to drive safely and within the speed limit. So, he has co-developed an app called Radar Reminder that acts like a driving coach to keep us alert to speed cameras and road hazards, and make sure we stay conscious of not creeping.
Radar Reminder App for iOS phones
Radar Reminder App for Android phones
Been caught #speeding by a #radar or #speedcamera in #SouthAustralia? Then our latest guest Steve Grealy has a couple of apps to help you #drive more safely without getting fined. #RadarReminder and #SpeedCameraClub are available now. https://t.co/NaNdaFoa0Y @RAAofSA @motor
— The Adelaide Show (@TheAdelaideShow) June 19, 2022
Steve, I love your creative response to understanding your own weakness. I would call that applied creativity! We are going to go into the details of the app later but I’d love to start by hearing a story about THAT MOMENT when you knew you needed to create a tool like Radar Reminder.
You piqued Today Tonight’s interest, too, I hear?
It’s not your first invention though. You had something involving accelerators?
Some people might think it’s a bit surprising having one former member of our emergency services trying to undermine the speed detection work of another service. Is that how you see it? Or do the Fatal Five link all services together.
As a firie, were you ever called to a car accident scene? I don’t want to go for any morbid titilation but I do want you to describe what those first moments and experiences are like, where some people’s lives have been drastically or fatally disrupted.
What’s it like being on duty and “waiting”?
In the city, there must be dozens of false alarms in office buildings and hotels every week, if not daily. How do you psych yourself to be at the top of your game when you know that almost all of them will be false?
In my days as an office worker, I admit being rather blaize about fire drills (and I wasn’t alone). What do you want to say to “young Steve” and to anybody else who shares that character flaw?
Have you attended many actual building fires? What have been your experiences?
How similar or different is the routine of a South Australian fire fighting team compared to all those US TV shows?
Do you recall having any gutteral reactions during 911, on behalf of your colleagues-in-fire-fighting?
On a lighter note, there are a lot of popular culture references to firefighters being HOT. I saw a t-shirt saying, “I hate being sexy but I’m a firefighter so I can’t help it”. Is there pressure to keep the bod in shape inside a fire station, or does that just come with the territory?
Now, back to Radar Reminder. It’s free or $2.99 to remove ads. Exactly how does is work?
How accurate is that data that SAPOL puts out about locations?
They have other speed detection units, don’t they?
Can you update your app with road hazards?
There’s an online community, too.
01:03:07 Musical Pilgrimage
In the musical pilgrimage, we have Someday by Jennifer Trijo.
Someday is the title song from an orginal cabaret show Jennifer wrote in which audiences are inspired and motivated to achieve their dreams and life goals now rather than wait until one far-off, distant day when conditions might be perfect. You can read The Adelaide Show’s review by Ekkia Evans here: Someday. Jennifer’s finalising plans to take Someday to the Eastern States (Sydney and Melbourne) later this year.
Jennifer has just completed touring with Once the Musical in Perth as an actor-musician. She has more gigs coming up with Emma Knights (see Steve’s review of Emma’s show, Myths, Legends, and Fantasy) during the winter season which will soon be announced on Emma’s website.
Jennifer is in rehearsals for another musical which is soon to be announced so she can’t mention just yet. No doubt details will appear on her website when ready: Jennifer Trijo. Or follow her on Instagram.
Here’s this week’s preview video
SFX: Throughout the podcast we use free SFX from freesfx.co.uk for the harp, the visa stamp, the silent movie music, the stylus, the radio signal SFX, the wine pouring and cork pulling SFX, and the swooshes around Siri.