A Missed Call That Could Save Your Life (Or Someone Else's)
When was the last time your phone rang and you didn't look to see who's calling and decide to answer it? The temptation of a ringing phone is tough to ignore. Is it the boss? Your spouse? The bank? Forget the social etiquette of answering when you're around friends or loved ones and consider what happens when you're driving. Still answer it? We've all done it. But for Dave Teater that act of talking on the cell phone while driving changed his life forever. Four years ago his 12-year-old son Joe was killed when a woman talking on her cell phone ran a red light and plowed into the family vehicle. Now, Teater has joined a technology company in Canada that's got a new way to avoid that ringing or talking temptation. We'll have the story tonight on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
We had a chance to talk to Teater when he was recently speaking to traffic safety experts in Washington. The company he joined is called Aegis Mobility (based in Vancouver) and the software is called DriveAssist. It's a simple concept: once it's downloaded to a cell phone any outgoing calls (except 911) are disabled while driving. The software uses GPS and wi-fi to gauge speed and traffic patterns (it factors in things like waiting time at red lights). Any incoming calls are routed to a custom voicemail, which tells callers the person they've reached is currently driving and would they like to leave a message or send an emergency alert. Same goes for text messages. By the way, if you're a passenger you can override the program but anyone overseeing the account (like a parent or employer) gets a notification.
An increasing number of studies have shown that it's not simply the act of dialing or holding the phone that distracts drivers -- it's the cognitive distraction of the conversation. In some cases, researchers found that while talking on a cell phone drivers were just as impaired as if they were legally drunk. So for many people hands-free devices are not the answer. In addition to new ideas like DriveAssist it's going to take more education about the potential dangers involved with chatting while on the road, and that might lead to more laws banning such activity. In any case, we'll have Teater's story and show this technology in action tonight.
In the meantime, as long as you're not driving, stay connected!
We had a chance to talk to Teater when he was recently speaking to traffic safety experts in Washington. The company he joined is called Aegis Mobility (based in Vancouver) and the software is called DriveAssist. It's a simple concept: once it's downloaded to a cell phone any outgoing calls (except 911) are disabled while driving. The software uses GPS and wi-fi to gauge speed and traffic patterns (it factors in things like waiting time at red lights). Any incoming calls are routed to a custom voicemail, which tells callers the person they've reached is currently driving and would they like to leave a message or send an emergency alert. Same goes for text messages. By the way, if you're a passenger you can override the program but anyone overseeing the account (like a parent or employer) gets a notification.
An increasing number of studies have shown that it's not simply the act of dialing or holding the phone that distracts drivers -- it's the cognitive distraction of the conversation. In some cases, researchers found that while talking on a cell phone drivers were just as impaired as if they were legally drunk. So for many people hands-free devices are not the answer. In addition to new ideas like DriveAssist it's going to take more education about the potential dangers involved with chatting while on the road, and that might lead to more laws banning such activity. In any case, we'll have Teater's story and show this technology in action tonight.
In the meantime, as long as you're not driving, stay connected!
