Written by Crystal Childs
As we all know, texting has become a main source of communication. For some, a necessity. Teens started the trend and now, Moms, Dads and businesses are following suit. It’s a great way to keep in touch with your kids, as they are more likely to answer a text then to pick up their phone when it’s ringing or even listen to their voicemail. Businesses use it as the fastest way to get information to their customers.
However, when mixed with driving a vehicle, texting can be deadly. Some say texting while driving is worse than drunk driving and there have been many studies done to prove this. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has reported that texting while driving is two times more dangerous than drunk driving.
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Luckily, one by one, house bills are being passed to ban texting while driving.
Cell phone companies have also joined the effort and are coming forward and spreading the word about the dangers of texting while driving. AT&T’s message is simple: “When it comes to texting and driving, it can wait.” AT&T continues to work with The Wireless Association, The National Safety Council and other third parties to support their efforts to educate the public about the dangers of texting while driving. They have even created a facebook page dedicated to the effort.
If you find that the buzz of your phone is just too tempting to ignore, you could try one of these applications:
Textecution™ : Once installed, Textecution™ sits quietly in the background and allows you to use your phone as you normally would. Once the program recognizes that your phone is traveling faster than 10mph, Textecution™ disables the phone’s texting feature so text messages cannot be sent or received. Once the phone is at rest, or traveling at a speed slower than 10mph, the texting feature seamlessly becomes available for use, and text messages may be sent or received. It looks like you’re able to purchase Textecution™, for a one time fee of $29.99.
Potential Problem: Your cell phone will be disabled if you are on a train, plane or in the back seat of an automobile. The application won’t be able to recognize if you are the driver or just a passenger.
Vlingo : The inventor of the mobile phone “voice user interface,” Vlingo delivers a voice interface and technology that allows you to instantly access services and content on your device. These services include the ability to send text and email messages, call contacts, search the Web, update your Facebook or Twitter status and much more by just speaking into their phone. Vlingo also offers (currently for Blackberry users only) SafeReader, a new feature that gives you an alternative way to read incoming text and email messages on the go! Rather than fumbling to retrieve and read messages while on the road, SafeReader reads them aloud so you never have to take your eyes off the road or hands off the wheel. Vlingo offers a FREE version of this that only allows you to communicate with other Vlingo users. However they also offer the full program that allows you to communicate with all of your contacts for $4.99 a month or a one time fee of $19.99.
Potential Problem: You’re still using your cell phone. Therefore, you’re still distracted. Maybe not as distracted as you were without this application but maybe still enough to cause an accident.
Key2SafeDrivingTM: Key2SafeDrivingTM (K2SD), limits cell phone usage while driving by rerouting calls directly to voice mail and sends automated text message responses saying that the driver will respond when they have safely reached their destination. The software is a little bit more cumbersome than the previous alternatives. The system includes an Activator that needs to be installed in the OBD II port (under driver’s side dashboard) and costs a lot more at $99.95. However, this allows you to “Plug and Forget” as their site says, and it allows you to focus 100% on the road and on your driving. When you arrive at your destination you can check your messages.
Potential Problem: If you’re driving a rental or borrowing someone’s car, it won’t be effective.
Out of the three choices above, I choose to throw my phone in the back seat and forget about it. It’s free – it just takes will power.
I have an app for my Blackberry Storm that reads incoming text messages. it’s called Drive safe.ly. It reads the incoming, but doesn’t allow you to send out. All in all, though, I get the important info to me, and people will have to wait for me to respond.