Texting While Driving on the Radar

I recently tweeted the ‘StoptheTexts‘ campaign that was advocating harsher penalties to drivers caught texting while driving. I lamented that it’s sad that harsher punishment appear to be the only way to get drivers to listen. This got me thinking, how can the police even enforce these laws? It’s very difficult to say with certainty if someone’s on their phone, hell they could even just be holding a cookie that’s shaped like an iphone. Well, actually, that very next day I see an article on a new device to catch people texting and driving.

The device apparently functions similar to a radar gun but instead picks up the frequencies emitted by mobile phones. Pretty clever eh? Well maybe. While I’m all for innovation in the area of solving texting while driving, its difficult to see how this will be any better than spotting people silly enough to use their phone and drive. As you may well know, mobile phones are constantly sending out signals, even when they aren’t in use, and hey the driver could even be sensible enough to have an auto-responder while they’re driving that will obviously still be sending signals. Also, I wonder how accurate the device is in discern whether they are picking up the drivers phone or the passenger.

An impasse for this technology? Well, in my ideal world the solution to texting while driving is nothing to do with crime and punishment – but hey, call me a dreamer.

 

Review of Katasi Technology

Here’s a new tech solution to try to combat texting while driving. It involves installing a small black box below the steering wheel in cars that essentially blocks all incoming calls, text and notifications.

While I’m all for this kind of innovation, which is desperately needed,  I do question it slightly.

It tries to side-step the common problem of anti-text-and-drive apps:  it’s almost impossible to tell who is driving. It tries to do so by assuming if other people are in the car they’re going to tell you not to text and drive… right. The problem with this, as you may well have already gathered,  the main offenders when it comes to texting while driving are teens. If the Katasi technology is deactivated while there are other phones present, don’t expect teens to listen to the prudent advice of their friends, if they offer any.

So how do we get around this problem. You might say “Hey, just limit the deactivation range of the box”. But I foresee the creation of a arms-outstretched-to-the-other-side-of-the-car trend to evade this, making it even more dangerous. Another problem is the fact that on the Katasi website they state that the system ‘Can be overridden to allow full function within seconds’, so what’s going to stop someone desperate to check out a recent cat photo in their Facebook news feed?
In a NY Times article about the technology, we are told that the technology has stalled due to legal problems arising in conjunction with the telco backing it, Sprint. Though putting it down to financial liabilities of what-ifs, I think what Sprint may really be worried about is the unenviable task of convincing teens to install them in their cars, the comparison made: “It’s like trying to make condoms cool.”

Fight the urge!

Has religion made a triumphant return?

Every traffic light I stop at, people appear to be praying.

But oh no, of course they’re not praying. They’re browsing/texting/scrolling through their smartphones. I wouldn’t ordinarily be concerned about this, like you I might from time to time have a quick scroll through Facebook while waiting for lights that will only turn green once I look away. But when you combine this habit with a moving vehicle, it’s a recipe for disaster.

While attempts have been made to curb this dangerous habit, I feel the common fear-mongering approach really doesn’t work. People gotta stay connected, no matter what the risk.

So what do I suggest, you may ask?

Technology. Apps are being released by the day to either use auto-response tools or disable your phone completely. Now I’m not saying this is going to solve the problem, but hey, it’s a start!