Device blocks cell phone use while driving
By Michael W. Jones
In a move reminiscent of the nascent automobile breathalyzer industry, two inventors from San Francisco are bringing a device to market that blocks the use of a mobile phone while driving. The new device is equally effective against talking on a cell phone or using the phone to send text messages. The new device, which will be marketed as the Key2SafeDriving, takes the form of a high-tech automobile key holder.
The inventors, Xuesong Zhou and Dr. Wallace Curry, say that the key, when inserted in the ignition of the automobile, sends a signal to block the operation of the driver’s cell phone. Each special Key2SafeDriving key is mated to a specific person’s phone. Other occupants of the car are still able to use their cell phones. A demonstration of the device is available in a YouTube video. The device is also able to tell callers, via text message, that the person they are calling is driving and will call them back when they reach their destination.
Texting and talking while driving are becoming significant problems among teenagers and other young drivers, according to statistics. The marketing for the device is aimed at the parents of young drivers, especially in that growing number of US states where using the cell phone while driving is becoming against the law for teenagers. These states are reacting to a rise in cell-phone related automobile crashes among young drivers, which have almost drawn equal to the numbers caused by drinking and driving.
Such devices are becoming more common, according to a Yahoo technology article. Ford Motor company recently introduced the MyKey device to give parents more control over how their teenaged drivers are behaving while driving. The MyKey device interacts with a cars computer system and allows parents to control how fast younger drivers may drive, how loud the radio can be played, and whether or not the seat belts are fastened. The device will become standard equipment on many Ford cars in the near future.
Although the devices are aimed at youthful drivers, there is no reason that they could not be used to control the driving patterns of other groups, especially when coupled with GPS devices, which are already able to report the position of the car in which they are installed. Too much like Big Brother? Only time will tell.
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