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Technological Solution For Texting While Driving Struggles For Traction
An anonymous reader writes: While legislators and police try to tackle the epidemic of distracted driving through education, regulation, and enforcement, Scott Tibbitts is trying to solve it through engineering. He developed a small device which, when plugged into a vehicle, would determine which phone belonged to the driver and shut off its texting and voice call capabilities. "The telematics box sends a wireless message that the car is moving. The phone sends its own message about its location. Both sets of information — from the car and phone — are sent to Katasi's servers. Then, an algorithm weighs the incoming data with other information, like the location of the phones belonging to all the people who drive the car and the starting point of the trip; if the trip starts at Junior's high school, and mom and dad's phones are at work, the driver has been identified — Junior is driving."
The problem is that Tibbitts can't get anyone interested in setting up a system to make these devices ubiquitous. Consumers can't be sold on such a product: all evidence suggests people are increasingly unwilling to be cut off from constant communication. So, he tried working with carriers. Sprint partnered with Tibbitts long enough to test the device, but they were afraid of the legal risks involved. Now, Tibbitts is nursing the technology along, looking for a way to get it into cars and make people safer.
The problem is that Tibbitts can't get anyone interested in setting up a system to make these devices ubiquitous. Consumers can't be sold on such a product: all evidence suggests people are increasingly unwilling to be cut off from constant communication. So, he tried working with carriers. Sprint partnered with Tibbitts long enough to test the device, but they were afraid of the legal risks involved. Now, Tibbitts is nursing the technology along, looking for a way to get it into cars and make people safer.
I don't think you understand. There are more than two political parties. If you didn't vote for one of the alternatives instead of voting for one of two people you thought sucked, you are a part of the problem.
Then again, Obama did wook pwetty hawt wif himsss ssshirt off, dint he? I get an erection jusssst finking about him. No homo.
Speeding = higher risk of crash.
Meh, that propaganda has been around for awhile...
To an extent, speeding can perhaps make a crash worse, but that isn't really why we have speeding laws.
We have them to generate income for the government, specifically local and state government, to the tune of $6.2 billion last year.
The German Autobaun is safer per mile driven than US highways. Many reasons for it:
1. Better roads (their roads are better maintained and thicker)
2. Better driver training (it is expensive and strict)
3. Better enforcement of "drive right". (on the highway, you pass on the left, drive on the right, it is safer than what we do in the US, which is to drive all over the road at random speeds)