New Service To Curb Cell Phone Distraction

A man walks pass to the main display at the Stock Exchange in Madrid, Spain, Monday, June 4, 2012. The Labor Ministry reported today a drop of 30,313 people claiming benefits, to a total of 4,71 million unemployed people in May, a traditionally good month for hiring as companies prepare for the vacation season. (AP Photo/Alberto Di Lolli) / Alberto Di Lolli

When David Teater's 12-year-old son, Joe, was killed in 2004 by a driver who was talking on a cell phone, he tried to cut back on his own habit of driving and talking. It turned out to be very difficult.

"You have to remember to turn the phone off ... which you never remember to do. Or you have to ignore a ringing phone, which is incredibly hard," Teater said. "We've been conditioned our entire lives to answer ringing phones."

Teater became an advocate for curbing what he calls "driving while distracted," and now, he's part of a company with a technology that can help.

Aegis Mobility, a Canadian software company, announced Monday that it has developed software called DriveAssistT that will detect whether a cell phone is moving at car speeds. When that happens, the software will alert the cellular network, telling it to hold calls and text messages until the drive is over.

The software doesn't completely block incoming calls. Callers will hear a message saying the person they're calling appears to be driving. They can hit a button to leave an emergency voice mail, which is put through immediately.

Several states, including New York and California, have introduced laws against talking on a cell phone while driving, but they still allow the use of hands-free devices like Bluetooth headsets. However, studies have shown that hands-free devices may not help. It appears that it is the distraction of dialing or talking that is dangerous, rather than the act of taking a hand off the wheel.

A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2006 found that dialing or talking on the phone was the cause in 7 percent of crashes and near-crashes. For the study, drivers had onboard "black boxes" that recorded their actions.

Last year, 41,059 people died in traffic accidents.

(AP/Alan Youngblood, Star-Banner)

(The charred remains of a semi truck are shown buried in the back of a school bus after bursting into flames, Sept. 23, 2008 in Citra, Fla. Officials say the truck driver was on his cell phone when he slammed into the bus. A 13-year-old girl died.)

Aegis' software will work on phones with Windows Mobile software, popular for "smart" phones, or Symbian software, used in phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson. It uses the phone's Global Positioning System chip to detect motion, aided by the cell-tower signal. If the phone has a Wi-Fi antenna, that can be used as well, said Dave Hattey, Aegis' CEO.

To work, the software has to be supported by the cellular carrier. Aegis has no deals in place yet, but is in discussions with the big U.S. networks, said Teater, who is a vice president at Aegis. The company hopes to be able to announce early next year that the software is available through a carrier, probably for $10 to $20 per month for a family.

The software can be managed remotely through a Web site. For instance, parents will get alerts if their kids override the motion-sensing feature to indicate that they're riding in a car rather than driving. A corporation that buys the software for their employees can do the same.

Unusually for the world of cell phone software, Aegis is bringing out DriveAssistT in partnership with an insurance company. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. said it plans to offer a discount of 3 percent to 10 percent on family policies for people who use DriveAssistT.

[dkrycek]

A lot of accidents happen because of distracted driving, such as using your cell phone. That's just one more reason why it is so important to have insurance. My friend just bought a car and the first thing he did was find <a href="http://www.backusinsuranceoh.com/services">insurance Cincinnati, OH</a>. It is so hard if you get in an accident and don't have insurance!

[barbaram99]

I miss the days when there was not cells. They are everywhere. Yep they have been told to hang the bloody thing up. People walk and talk. I have used a cell. Hate them with passion. The car is not for mukti-tasking. People who cross the street need to hang up as well. I have told my friend I can''t talk safety first.

[heero78-2009]

what a useless service to pay for. how about just not answering the phone when you''re driving?

[emmer94]

(In most states) you''re supposed to wear a seatbelt while driving, but very few places have the manpower to enforce that. Let''s face it, making it illegal to talk on your cellphone will only mean that IF you''re in a wreck will you face any consequences. The belief of &quot;It won''t happen to me&quot; keeps so many folks walking that fine line.

[blackyowe]

People do die fiddling with the sterio in the car. The thing is they talk on phones more often thus the higher chance of causing a acident.

[docpeter1953]

From the above article, &quot;&quot;You have to remember to turn the phone off ... which you never remember to do. Or you have to ignore a ringing phone, which is incredibly hard,&quot; Teater said. &quot;We''ve been conditioned our entire lives to answer ringing phones.&quot;
________________

I agree with his first point, turning off the cell is difficult to remember, as is turning the dang thing back on.

On his second point, my wife woukld agree with him. As for me... all I can say is he must not have enough bill collectors or telemarketers calling him. I have only one phone, my cell. I don''t answer my cell if I don''t know who is calling. I use special musical rings such as ''The Witch is Dead'' form ''The Wizard of Oz'' for my ex-wife. if it ain''t a special ring it don''t get answered right away. Leave me a message and I MAY call you back, if you ain''t in my list you ain''t too improtant to me.

[shoppingnut-2009]

Well at least I can eat my cheeseburger and fries while driving. I don''t care about talking on the phone, I actually keep my phone off most of the time so people can''t call me and annoy me.

[emilymhanson]

Quote: However, studies have shown that hands-free devices may not help. It appears that it is the distraction of dialing or talking that is dangerous, rather than the act of taking a hand off the wheel.

By this logic, we should also have devices that ban radios, cds, mp3 players, and all conversations while driving too. We should also ban all noise from taxis, buses, and passenger trains since the professional drivers may be distracted too.

Take responsibility and just don''t use the phone while driving.

[blackyowe]

I was almost smashed by someone on a cell phone. I HATE this that people act like they can''t help it. I have a bumper sticker that says hangup and drive.

[fabrat1]

I say great, go for it. I understand that cell phones aren''t the only distraction but it''s one of them. I can say that if it ever becomes available through my cell company I would get it for my family.