Drivers distracted by their phones or other gadgets in the car are a serious safety problem and really annoying to get stuck behind when the light turns green. What if there were an overly restrictive answer to that problem? Meet the Origo: a system that won’t let you start your car unless your phone is in a specific dock. [More]
The Origo Won’t Let Smartphone Addicts Start Car Unless Phone Is Inaccessible
By April 19, 2013
Court Would Rather Drivers Get Lost Than Use Phone Maps While Driving
By April 9, 2013
There’s a lot to be said about laws that protect drivers from distraction, including those in California that ban driving while texting or otherwise noodling around on your phone. But what if you’re just trying to get where you’re going, and your car isn’t moving? That’s not okay, say courts involved in the case of a motorist who was pulled over for checking the map on his iPhone 4. [More]
Just A Friendly Reminder That You Shouldn’t Be Surfing The Web While Driving
By November 20, 2012
If there’s one thing you should be paying attention to while driving, it’s not what that hilarious comedian on Twitter just tweeted or the interminable display of baby pictures flowing down your Facebook newsfeed. Nope. It’s that thing you’re guiding your massive hunk of metal along — the road. A new survey from State Farm says there are a lot of drivers out there distracted by the Internets who should be minding where they’re going instead. [More]
Ford Developing Technology That Reacts To Calm Stressed Or Distracted Drivers
By June 28, 2012
While it’s not the same as having a soothing chat with KITT the talking Trans-Am, the folks at Ford are working on technology that would not only recognize when drivers are distracted or in stressful situations but would also act to cut down on external factors in order to calm things down. [More]
California Woman Takes Distracted Driving To Entirely New Level
By April 5, 2012
It’s already against the law in California to hold your cellphone up to your ear while you drive. Then throw two young children in the back seat, one with no seatbelt on and the other improperly secured in a child’s seat. And just for good measure, take an infant and place it on the lap of the driver — who, by the way, has a suspended license — and you have the 2012 poster for every anti-distracted driving campaign. [More]
Man Without Cellphone Ticketed For Talking On Cellphone While Driving
By March 7, 2012
We don’t have a problem with police officers enforcing laws that prohibit people from driving and talking on their cellphones at the same time. Where we draw the line is at the application of this law to a man who didn’t even have a cellphone in the car with him. [More]
Don't Yap Or Tap On Your Phone While Teaching Your Kid To Drive
By October 20, 2011
Teaching your teenage child to drive is an emotionally fraught yet important time. You can instill good driving habits that will see them through the couple of decades we have left before robotic flying cars dominate the market, then eventually enslave us. Or you can set a bad example by whipping out your phone while teaching the finer points of highway merging. Guess which one most American parents choose? [More]
DOT & Disney Team Up To Fight Distracted Driving, Promote New Movie
By June 15, 2011
The Department of Transportation’s campaign against distracted driving is becoming animated. Literally. [More]
LaHood Highlights Distracted Driving Risks, Launches Guide
By March 7, 2011
Surrounded by family members of distracted driving victims, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced a new pamphlet designed to highlight the “deadly epidemic” of inattentive driving. Among those joining LaHood in his presentation at Consumers Union was Melissa Dinges, whose sister, Angelina, was walking with two of her friends along a pedestrian walkway just three houses away from her home in California when she was hit from behind by a truck driven by an 18-year-old woman. The driver had been typing a text message before the accident. Angelina’s two friends survived, but sadly, she did not. [More]
Report: Drowsy Driving Causes 17% Of Crashes
By November 8, 2010
A new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety may keep you up at night — and that could be a good thing. According to the report, 41% of drivers admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel, and drowsy driving accounts for about 17% of all crashes, and 2% of vehicular fatalities. [More]
Advice: Do Not Shave Your Privates While Driving
By March 8, 2010
Much is said about distracted driving. Don’t text, don’t talk on the phone, don’t eat soup. Apparently nobody bothered to tell one Florida woman not to shave her privates while driving. Clearly, this was our mistake. [More]
New Nonprofit Created To Make Drivers Put The Damn Phone Down
By January 14, 2010
What would it take to get you to put the phone down while you’re driving? FocusDriven is an advocacy group for the victims of accidents caused by distracted drivers, and their families. The group hopes to do for distracted driving what Mothers Against Drunk Driving was able to do for drunk driving–raising awareness that it’s a really stupid thing that can hurt innocent people you don’t know. [More]
3 Cellphone Apps To Block Texting While Driving
By October 30, 2009
We’ve been talking about the dangers of texting while driving for a while, and if you’ve been paying attention, you know it’s no joke: texting is 23 times more distracting than talking on a phone. In spite of this, most people do it anyway. If you just can’t help yourself, here are three apps that will limit your ability to text while driving.
Federal Employees Banned From Texting While Driving
By October 2, 2009
An executive order issued this week bans federal employees from texting while driving when using government vehicles or phones, or while on government business. Given the safety risks of texting while driving, we think this was a good move, and hope that it extends to the general population. Take our poll and tell us what you think, inside.
