Device Aims To Stop Calls While Driving

CBS Evening News: Using A Cell Phone While Driving Ups Accident Chance By Four Times

(CBS)  Dave Teater says his son, Joe, could really light up a room.

"He was always happy, always smiling - I never remember Joe being angry with anybody," Teater said. "He loved life."

Four years ago, 12-year-old Joe was killed by a woman distracted while on her cell phone. She ran a red light and plowed into the Teaters' car.

"You never get over it," he said.

His wife, Judy, survived.

Teater closed his automotive consulting business to take up a cause - warning others, CBS News science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg reports.

"I don't think people ought to use a cell phone when they're driving, period," he said.

Now, Teater wants drivers to go the extra mile - with some new technology for cell phones and texting devices.

"The software periodically checks using various sensors that are already in the phone, like GPS and wi-fi," he explains.

He's joined a company that created "Drive Assist," software downloaded to a hand-held device. If GPS detects driving motion, a signal is sent to the wireless provider, which disables outgoing calls, except to 9-1-1, and diverts incoming calls to a custom voice mail.

"The person you called appears to be driving," it says.

Maybe you think going "hands-free" is safe enough. Think again. New research shows whether or not drivers are actually holding the phone, they are just as distracted by the conversation itself - sometimes as impaired as if they were legally drunk.

"I just wish they knew what I knew," Teater said.

Drive Assist, available early next year, will cost between $10 and $20 a month. Nationwide Insurance has already announced people who use it will save money on their policies.

Teater is convinced it will save much more than that.

Nothing will ever make up for the loss of Joe. But it'll add some meaning to it. And that is helpful.

[huskyfish02]

The questions isn''t whether we should outlaw cell phones, it''s what measures can we take to make driving safer. We invest in safety every day. There was a time when you wern''t required to wear seat belts or when everyone smoked because we wern''t aware of the health dangers it caused. Talking on the cell phone while driving is as dangerous as driving with a .08 alcohol blood content. Am I saying everyone has to go buy it when it becomes available? No. (although I think they should) I am saying that this unwillingness to turn off cell phones while driving shows a selfish frame of mind (that I too am guilty of) putting our small daily conversations ahead of everyone elses saftey. Hang up and drive, it''s that easy.

[huskyfish02]

The questions isn''t whether we should outlaw cell phones, it''s what measures can we take to make driving safer. We invest in safety every day. There was a time when you wern''t required to wear seat belts or when everyone smoked because we wern''t aware of the health dangers it caused. Talking on the cell phone while driving is as dangerous as driving with a .08 alcohol blood content. Am I saying everyone has to go buy it when it becomes available? No. (although I think they should) I am saying that this unwillingness to turn off cell phones while driving shows a selfish frame of mind (that I too am guilty of) putting our small daily conversations ahead of everyone elses saftey. Hang up and drive, it''s that easy.

[endofempire]

I guess we aren''t looking at the other news articles... Economy tanking... Jobless rates increase... So we should drop what we are doing and invest in new technology to stop people from communicating while they drive? Lets outlaw lipstick and makeup, while we are at it!!! How many people have gotten killed by women putting on makeup? How about by men entering an address on their GPS? Women shusshing their kids in the back seat? Let''s outlaw pooches in cars as well... They can take up quite a bit of attention. Get real, folks!!! It is a sad tragedy whenever anyone loses their life, but there are thousands of other ways people cause accidents and deaths out there... Can''t outlaw them all, can we?

[graves2570]

In watching this mornings segment regarding my cousin, awareness sunk in. In a world where we feel irritated by having "conveniences" limited, I ask that we merely take a minute and reflect on the need to accept a phone call over the value of someones life. I travel everyday supporting 3 states. I have held long conversations and regretfully enough, have texted or replied to an email while driving. Joe was my cousin and I STILL find it difficult as admittedly did Dave Teater. Because of this segment and the final awareness it brought to my selfish behavior my phone will not be used while driving. I will contact my corporation to learn if they will provide Drive Assist for our corporate phones if requested, when it becomes available. In final thoughts, is it more important to take an 8 minute call from a family member about what is for dinner or realize that in 8 seconds a family member will never sit at your or someone else''''s dinner table again. Its awareness, its a conscious decision, its (Drive Assist) out there and yours for the choosing.

[huskyfish02]

Scientific tests have proven that hands free devices do nothing to make cell-phone driving safer, other than freeing one hand. What distracts drivers is the cognitive response to talking to someone outside of the car. You can say that you are no more distracted by the radio or someone inside the car, but tests have proven otherwise. Certainly, poor driving caused this accident, not a cell phone. However, the fact remains that had the yound lady not been on her cell phone, she most likely wouldn''t have ran the red light. I would think that this device would be targeted for new drivers and companies who already have rules against driving on the cell phone, although personally I think it sounds like a genius device for anyone and would be more than happy to pay for it. Think your 16 year old daughter always turns her phone off when she gets in the car, even though you''ve asked her hundreds of times? Think the huge train crash in Chicago a few months ago could have been prevented if the train driver had this device on his phone so he couldn''t text?

[ladyraestewa]

People once realized driving was a responsibility. They paid attention without distractions of CDs, GPS, cell phones and DVD players. I read an article about a woman running her office from the vehicle bragging she not only talked but texted and faxed all while driving!

Today with cruise control, automatic transmissions and such, cars are more dangerous because drivers no longer treat driving as a responsibility. They think it is their right. Just tell someone their driver''s license owned by the state is given as a privilege and listen to the disagreement. But it''s true, your license belongs to your state for use as a PRIVILEGE! No one has the right to drive.

Yet repeatedly there are collisions caused solely by driver irresponsibility. We are late so we don''t stop for the red light, we weave through traffic thinking we move quicker, we roll through stop signs, drive on the shoulder, cut people off and now we do it while talking, texting, using a GPS, listening to the DVD in the player and even faxing. Added to that are the morons who apply make up, eat, drink and such all while driving. Then they wonder why vehicles cost so much and their insurance is so high. It''s because stupidheads are killing and injuring people because they with no regard for anyone else.

When driving you just drive. No one is so important they have to be on the phone at all while driving!

[legs00069]

hi, my name is mickey and iam a driver and i also use a cell phone everyday while driving.
this morning you airt a fam, whos son died becoure of some one on the cellphone. iam sorry for therr lost.
but here is my think, if i shouldnt talk on the phone while driving then that means i should not talk with my passengers in the truck eather. i can understand the texting part nd why not to do it, even knowing i do that also.
but if we cant talk to oure passengers we might as well not have any one with us in oure cars.
also, what about the truckers and theme on the cb. there are talking on there all the time and on the phone @ the same time. i should know, iam out on the highways all the time. i see theme and hear theme , plus i drive truck my self...
but anyways, my point is, does it mean we cant talk to oure passengers who ever the may be.
just woundering.
mickey

[greenfields_]

Harry Smith said this morning that the accident which took the life of the child of the couple being profiled "was caused by a cell phone."

I don''t know if Mr. Smith writes his own material, I doubt it, but that comment is so typical of American society today. The cell phone is an inanimate object and can do NOTHING on its own. The person using the phone caused the accident. Blaming phones for vehicle accidents, or blaming guns for crime, or blaming a knife for the cut you receive in the kitchen are equally wrong. Inanimate objects are just that, objects that can do nothing without a human being taking an action and being responsible for the results of the action.

Yes, I used the "R" word. People having to step up and accept responsibility for their actions. We have to begin, again, to hold people responsible for their actions. Mankind used to know this; it''s time we got back to that.

[greenfields_]

Harry Smith said this morning that the accident which took the life of the child of the couple being profiled "was caused by a cell phone."

I don''t know if Mr. Smith writes his own material, I doubt it, but that comment is so typical of American society today. The cell phone is an inanimate object and can do NOTHING on its own. The person using the phone caused the accident. Blaming phones for vehicle accidents, or blaming guns for crime, or blaming a knife for the cut you receive in the kitchen are equally wrong. Inanimate objects are just that, objects that can do nothing without a human being taking an action and being responsible for the results of the action.

Yes, I used the "R" word. People having to step up and accept responsibility for their actions. We have to begin, again, to hold people responsible for their actions. Mankind used to know this; it''s time we got back to that.

[greenfields_]

Harry Smith said this morning that the accident which took the life of the child of the couple being profiled "was caused by a cell phone."

I don''t know if Mr. Smith writes his own material, I doubt it, but that comment is so typical of American society today. The cell phone is an inanimate object and can do NOTHING on its own. The person using the phone caused the accident. Blaming phones for vehicle accidents, or blaming guns for crime, or blaming a knife for the cut you receive in the kitchen are equally wrong. Inanimate objects are just that, objects that can do nothing without a human being taking an action and being responsible for the results of the action.

Yes, I used the "R" word. People having to step up and accept responsibility for their actions. We have to begin, again, to hold people responsible for their actions. Mankind used to know this; it''s time we got back to that.

[thetrafficgu]

All I need is to add money to my wireless services. Common sense and responsibility should do the job. If I''m following an impaired driver or see a problem on the road I don''t want some device preventing me from making a call to DOT or State Patrol without tying up 911. Sorry for their loss, but what about the book readers and make-up being put on or the bisquit eater. Those scare just as much. Hang up and Drive.

[magoo2u1]

Do I need to buy a cell phone to reduce my insurance? Are we assuming everyone has a cell phone now?
The only phone I have is provided by my employer.

[magoo2u1]

So, how about if you are a passenger on a bus or in a car? Gee whiz, what if you do what I do : Check the ringing phone and if it is an important call, pull over and call them back? Not ringing me and displaying caller id may be an issue.

[playersnoopy]

I don''t usually comment on news stories but this kind of stuff annoy me to no end. First off I agree driving while on the phone is dangerous and I don''t think anyone should do it. But Drive Assist is the dumbest thing I''ve ever heard of. Turn off your phone or don''t answer it while driving and it goes to voicemail! Insurance companies giving you a break for paying for a service as dumb as this for $10-$20/mo sounds like they''ll be the ones making money from Drive Assist I bet.

But this isn''t why I''m upset, let''s face it, it''s not just having a phone in your hands that''s the problem it''s the distraction from talking on the phone with or w/o a headset. So how is it any less dangerous than say a parent trying to tend to a crying baby in the back while driving. A couple fighting on a long drive. A person singing to the radio. Someone eating while driving and spilling something and looking away from the road. They are equally like to cause a similar accident scenarios but we don''t have idiots that think they know what''s better for the rest of us and try to pass bills or implement silly stuff to prevent it. What''s next stop people from driving during emotional distress?

People just need to be more responsible and guess what if they''re not responsible enough, what makes you think they''ll pay $120-$240/yr for this service.