BOSTON – There’s an app that’s turning driving into a game that pays and what Bostonians learn when they get behind the wheel, may be the biggest payoff.

“Well, I think everybody thinks that they’re a great driver.”

Kris Carter thinks he’s a pretty good driver.

“I’m a fairly cautious driver,” he said. “Well, I think everybody thinks that they’re a great driver.”

Then came the app, “Boston’s Safest Driver” and, suddenly, Carter realized he might not be.

“There were stretches of road where I was going faster than I should have been,” he explained.

That’s the idea behind Cambridge Mobile Telematics’ app, which tracks your driving habits.

“When people look at the app and the data, they don’t realize how much room for improvement there is,” CMT’s Hari Balakrishnan said.

He says the app looks at hard-braking, phone use while driving, speeding and scores the driver.

“Bad habits sometimes become second nature for us,” Balakrishnan said. “The app really forces them to think about what they’re doing.”

Carter loved the idea. He’s co-chair of the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics.

He says last year, 23 people died in traffic crashes on Boston streets. The mayor wants that number to be zero.

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