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."

Jammed!

[Joe the Lesser]

And it's raspberry!

Hmm

[LegionKK]

Great, now we're going to have people texting with their arms outside the window.

Re:So... stuck in car pileup = no cell phone 911?

[BigRT]

You must be new here...

Unsinkable

[CommandoCody]

Good thing no teenager is tech-savvy enough to bypass this. I hear they're working on a porn filter next.

Work on Suits?

[olddotter]

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!

Re:911, but not Mom?

[Bozzio]

.. because adults never drive stupidly .

There, I made you look less stupid.

An alternative suggestion

[deadhammer]

Or you could, you know, trust your kids.

Do parents even do that anymore?

Re: Driving Stupid!

[TaoPhoenix]

They're Rollin' ... they're Hatin' ...
Tryin' to catch me Drivin' Stupid ...

Re:Jammed!

[Eli Gottlieb]

Only one man dares give me the raspberry: Lonestar!

Re:useless & easy to circumvent

[Zadaz]

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.

Which is exactly the point. This device is being marketed to people who have no understanding of teenagers--Parents afraid that their little snowflake is going to roll the car while doing 200 in a school zone while on a conference call between their pimp and coke dealer on their way to an animal sacrifice while texting an elderly priest to meet them in an out-of-state motel room. ie: People who know nothing about teenagers.

Which gives me mixed feelings. On one hand I hate people making money from fear, on the other hand I like the idea of profiting from people who have more money than sense.