Slashdot Mirror
Wireless Invention Jams Teen Drivers' Cell Calls
alphadogg writes "University of Utah researchers have invented technology that could come to be embraced by teenagers with the same enthusiasm they have for curfews and ID checks. And like those things, it could save their lives. Key2SafeDriving technology uses RFID or Bluetooth wireless capabilities to issue signals from car keys to cell phones to prevent drivers from talking on their phones or texting while driving. A company called Accendo LC of Kaysville, Utah has licensed the technology and is working to build it into commercial devices that could be on the market next year. The company is sorting out how to bring the technology to market, but one possibility is that it would be made available through cell phone service companies and could also be tied in with insurance companies, which might offer discounts for users."
So if she is carjacked and raped, at least the assailant won't be burning up her Roll Over minutes!!
And it's raspberry!
"I only speak the truth"
Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
It seems to me that it would be tied to a single phone. It would be illegal to blanket jam, if I'm recalling FCC regulations correctly. A jamming signal might impair the communications of a passing vehicle.
Colin Dean Go a year without DRM
Great, now we're going to have people texting with their arms outside the window.
The invention does not jam the cell it activates software. This is entirely different as a signal that jams the cell would cause the cell battery to run down early and will also disrupt nearby driver's conversations and signals. Not to mention jamming would be illegal.
Still prevents anyone in the car from using your phone. And it still allows you to use someone else's phone while driving. This is stupid and too easily defeated.
The car sends a signal to software on the phone that disables texting and calling any non-approved numbers. 911 is enabled by default and the parents can set further phone numbers which can be called.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
Why allow anyone to access his or her cell phone in the car, whether or not they are a teen? Better yet, let's put breathalyzers in all cars to prevent all drunk driving. Let's have RFID chips in everyone's drivers license and make sure only those insured and registered on a vehicle are driving the car. Hey, if you aren't breaking the law then you have nothing to worry about, right? Yeah...going down the path of "safety" is a scary thing.
"Engineering. Where the noble, semi-skilled laborers execute the vision of those who think and dream." -Sheldon
Apparently nobody bothered reading the article. The device is coupled with the cellphone and is provided by the cellphone company. It doesn't jam the phone it simply tells the phone not to make or receive calls. It does allow 911 calls.
Why not do what r2rknot said and mandate it for everyone? I live at the intersection of 2 roads that each go directly to the main entrance of 3 of the most populous central florida colleges and I find myself shouting "hang up and drive" almost exclusively at people who look to be in their mid 30s at least. Then again it IS a lot easier to just blame everything bad that happens on the road on teens and their terrible teen driving with teen cellphone use and teen teening teenager teen teening teenagers...
It occurs to me that if we stopped doing everything in our power to keep them from getting any experience driving or learning to drive safely that they might actually be better drivers. I can't be the only one that thinks that shite simulators, mandatory "here watch these gory movies" classes that make up drivers ed, and the flailing screaming fits of parents in the passenger seat that pass for practice are counter-productive to the desire for better teen drivers.
A bullet may have your name on it but splash damage is addressed "To whom it may concern."
Try reading the article next time. This is a willingly used device. It also doesn't jam signals in any manner you are speaking of.
You must be new here...
Good thing no teenager is tech-savvy enough to bypass this. I hear they're working on a porn filter next.
So the key sheath what sends the signal... meaning that it's going to be extra expensive to lose/break/etc?
It seems to depend on a lot of factors that aren't going to go over very well:
a) You need the key
b) You need a supported phone
c) You need your phone tied to the key
d) The auto-response feature won't work against landlines or phones that don't support texting (in the ad it shows a text message).
Overall, it generally looks really fucking irritating. I avoid the phone when possible if I'm in the car, but there can be reasons to make a call when stopped etc (running late) or to receive calls in an emergency.
The question of "what if it's a business call" and the answer of "it'll text the caller that you're driving" isn't going to go over very well, nor it is going to when your mother calls 5-min in to say "your dad is in the hospital" while you're headed out to a 4h drive...
I was once reared ended by a guy who stopped his phone conversation just long enough to say those scratches on his bumper are from the last person he ran into. Some people never learn!
Think Deeply.
Even if 911 is allowed, other highly relevant calls cannot be made.
This is like speed bumps: sounds good, until the ambulance or cop can't get to you in time because they have to go from 50 to 5 MPH periodically in the area, or can't move because they bottomed out the vehicle after hitting one at 50 after not seeing it.
How about facing the reality that bad things happen to stupid people doing stupid things, and teach kids to not be stupid? Proactively blocking their every move because they might do something dumb does not turn them into responsible adults.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
So the biggest problem I see with this is that it essentially requires the driver to voluntarily use a matching key and cell phone that are sold as a set.
If the driver were going to voluntarily not talk on the cell phone, they could just not do it and save the money.
If you give this to a teenager and think this means they won't be texting or talking on a cell phone while driving, you need to spend more time with teenagers. As soon as there's another person with a cell phone in the car with them, they can borrow that cell phone to talk or text. If they're more devious (and have the money), they'll just get themselves another cell phone. If they really want to talk or text while driving, they will. This isn't going to stop them unless they're all alone in the car and very conscientious to begin with.
Giving it to adults as some sort of insurance incentive? That's a laugh. Adults are even worse than kids about working the system.
Will wreck their cars while messing around with their cell phone trying to get a good signal?
I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
Please cite some examples of situations where 911 is not appropriate but yet you must make a phone call while driving? A call so important (but not important enough for 911) that it will actually make you safer if you do it while you are still driving instead of pulling to the side of the road or waiting for a stoplight.
That's all fine and good until stupid people start killing innocent people. The problem is that they often bring other people into the equation.
Or you could, you know, trust your kids.
Do parents even do that anymore?
I'll be honest, we're throwing science against the wall to see what sticks. -Cave Johnson
They're Rollin' ... they're Hatin' ... ...
Tryin' to catch me Drivin' Stupid
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
As far as I'm concerned, no one should be using their phone whilst driving (unless they're calling emergency services). Being in control of a car demands your full attention, if a call is that important, pull over and stop.
By the same logic, we should ban driving entirely, because teens kill even without cell phones. As always, a proper cost-benefit analysis needs to be done.
They can learn! Everybody can learn!
People are "stupid", because they
You can solve all of them trough
The only thing that's still hard to cure are genetic errors. But I trust the method of "infecting" people with modified virii that inject good DNA into cells. Think of a epidemic of something like this. You could cure the world by releasing such a virus into the wild. Just be very, very sure that it has no side-effects. ;)
So if you see someone who is really stupid, and you want to help him, find the *causes* of his stupidity, and fix them. But who am I telling this, when even most doctors don't care for causes anymore... :\
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.