MTBLover

Now this a majorly good thing- been talking about this for years.

Juha

You could also be in a bus, taxi or train, or just sitting next to someone who is driving. Fail.

--J

ItsJustMe

Yeah, I never use my phone when driving, but often do when I'm a passenger.

Of course, I don't have a smartphone and don't have any intention of getting one either (heck, even my cheapo cell is only turned on 1 or 2 times a month) so it's kind of a moot point for me anyway.

noisebeam

Maybe it could call also the police if it detects over PSL per database of roads. Sic that on your kids mom and dad.

Kurt Erlenbach

Cell phone (or other radio transmission) blocking is a federal crime. Hidden cell phones are a problem in prisons, but even a prison can't install blocking equipment.

jefmcg

There's no radio signal blocking. The phone is disabling itself. No federal laws invoked.

These are going to need lower powered GPS. If I left my GPS on for several hours, I wouldn't be making calls because of a flat battery.

ItsJustMe

RTFA. This is not blocking the radio transmission, it's talking about apps on the phone that detect that the phone is moving at car speeds and disables all but a limited number of calling functions.

cudak888 

Effectively keeping the cager even more intent on restarting his phone then driving.

Just make it illegal.

-Kurt

ItsJustMe

Make it illegal AND enforce it. Many places have made it illegal, that doesn't stop it on its own.

pueblonative

I thought the cell disabling application was called the "power button"

Speedwagon98

Making it illegal isn't the answer, either. How about we actually use some, oh I don't know, education to fight inattentive drivers? If you make it illegal to be distracted by your cell phone, an inattentive driver will just find something else to be distracted by. Be it the radio, the iPod, the passenger. It is the driver that is the problem, not the equipment.

More money into driver education, might actually yield results that we want. More money into enforcement of feel good laws, will do nothing for anyone(except generate some revenue for the police).

I'm not against an app that blocks this, as it is the user's choice to buy it or not. But making these laws is just stupid. A "texting while driving" law does nothing but make some people feel good, while not actually protecting them in the least.

CommuterRun

This assumes a reasonable level of intellect. I question if people who use the phone while driving have that.

These apps are a start. I would like to see something like this come pre-installed on all new phones with no way for the user to tamper with the operation of the app.

The Florida texting while driving law is ridiculous. The fine is only $30. I think the penalty should be much higher, and if someone who is texting while driving is involved in a wreck the phone gets confiscated and destroyed.

Speedwagon98

Why wouldn't you want to see the problem actually be resolved, by educating people on how asinine it really is? Laws like this don't fix anything, and they really don't make a dent. People will just hold the phone lower so you can't see it(and actually take their eyes further from the road).

Honestly, it really bothers me that so many people are touting for more laws like this, but never say anything about the state of the education of people in the first place.

CommuterRun

Okay, on the subject of driver education: I would like to see a driver licensing system based on that of Japan. To get a DL it takes about 6 months of training and costs about $5000. And that's if the person passes every part of the training on the first try. Fail any part of the training and it's start over at square one.

How to implement this in the U.S.? Incrementally. Start will all new driver applicants. Give existing licensed drivers 5 years to get the new license. After 5 years make the old license is no longer valid for anything.

travelmama

YES! to both.

pueblonative

easier than it sounds. It would take a load more spending in technology to track cell phone movements in real time (do you want the government to be able to do that). And that's only on cell phone conversations; SMS messaging is stateless. So unless you catch the person in the act it's going to be hard for Officer Friendly to determine who's texting and who isn't.

genec

I suppose just using your brain was too much to ask? Jeeze can't these folks simply NOT answer the phone or text while driving?

degnaw

You can buy a real cell phone jammer for a little over 28 bucks, though I wouldn't recommend using it unless the drivers in question are stopped.

thadcombs

There are a lot of Bicycle courier companies that operate solely by Cell phone. If talking on the phone and riding was illegal and enforced, you'd hurt quite a few of those companies.

Juha

It's about the same here. You also have to pass courses on night riding and riding in winter conditions. You operate a machine that weighs +1 metric tons, you have to 1) prove you can control it and 2) be held accountable if you fail.

--J

DX-MAN

This is what has been needed; now, instead of a voluntary app, it needs to be hardwired in. Sorry, libertarians -- cell phone activity in the driver's seat has been pretty conclusively shown to be a hazard to many people's health. It's WORSE than DWI!

There's a guy on another site I frequent, who asserts that people of different skills should have different freedoms; of course, he feels he can handle TWD. As he is a frequent cyclist (his own admission), I find it a bit disconcerting that he would promote this idea. He has never explained to me how anyone is going to figure out the comparative skill levels of 190 million people, or how he can justify easing off some people who show poor habits but have not yet hurt/killed anyone.

Yes, a lower-powered GPS feature would be advisable; I also kinda like the idea that a timed puzzle could unlock the phone, for times when you're a passenger (although a passenger could do this for the driver and defeat the whole thing).

Bottom line, though, I'd choose IZUP. Wean these overgrown babies off the wireless teat.

noisebeam

"The shocking discovery of this research is that high multitaskers are lousy at everything that's necessary for multitasking,"

"When they're in situations where there are multiple sources of information coming from the external world or emerging out of memory, they're not able to filter out what's not relevant to their current goal,"

Multitaskers wildly overestimate how effective they are. They falsely assume they are getting more done, when the evidence shows the opposite.

pueblonative

This is one of those useless stats that gets thrown around without context:

https://www.lps.uci.edu/SSHonors/HFES2006.pdf

the key words are WHEN they were on the phone. Barring Jabberjaw I would not be assuming that the people are chatting full time when they are on the cell. By contrast, when you're drunk you're drunk. There is no period where you are drunk one sec, not drunk the next, and drunk again the third.

ItsJustMe

And I definitely would recommend against using it on a regular basis on a regular route, or ever telling anyone about it, since it's a federal offense to own or operate one.