New technology may make cell phones safer for drivers
Since the air is so thick with controversy (especially on this site!), we thought we’d start the work week off with some good news on the whole smart phone controversy. There are actually 2 companies out there that are developing technology that can make cell phones safe(er) for drivers.
The first is actually pretty common sense technology from ZoomSafer. It’s an app for your smart phone that manages your phone in a smart way so that people you decide upon will be notified by text and/or email that you are driving and can’t be disturbed. If an important email arrives, text to voice software will read the email to you if you have blue tooth engaged. Further, it gives you the ability with a blue tooth to dictate email that will be sent to the recipient as both a voice recording and and voice recognition text. It’s good that they use both, voice recognition has a ways to go still.
The app is free for the average joe and they have monthly plans with much richer tools for business and corporate uses.
Right now the technology runs only on Windows Mobile, RIM Blackberry and Android we hope they will quickly develop apps for the IPhone and other “dumber” cell phones if possible, and make those available for free on various web app markets so they can be downloaded directly from the phone.
This application sounds interesting, because not only does it interface with blue tooth but it reduces your need for using blue tooth at all while driving. Hands-free has proven to be far safer than holding a phone while driving, and without even saying, the ability to use smart phones in other ways makes it all the more usable. No doubt, the app will improve with time too. Let’s just hope that this business model works and they can stay in business. There aren’t a whole lot of phone applications out there that can save lives, ZoomSafer certainly holds out promise that it will do just that.
Here’s a list of what the free app can do as listed on their site:
ZoomFree, the FREE version of ZoomSafer, automatically detects when you’re driving and activates a set of basic services:
- Locks the device keypad to prohibit outbound communications (calls, emails, texts)
- Reminds drivers to focus on the road with personalized safety announcements
- Automatically notifies select friends via SMS, email or via Facebook and Twitter that you’re driving
- Suppresses inbound calls and alerts except for calls originated by any of three designated priority contacts
- Auto-replies to those who attempt to contact you, telling them that you’re driving and that you’ll get back to them when finished
Here’s a demo presentation from the site, we encourage anyone that finds this product of interest to visit the site to learn more.
The second set of products comes from Trinity Nobel and takes two different approaches. The most interesting and useful if they can get laws passed that actually allow it to be used is Guardian Angel With Celltinel.
This is a product that will actually effectively block cell phone signals from the driver only, only if blue tooth is not active and only if the vehicle is doing over 15mph, or at least those are the published standards at the moment. The problem with this technology is for now it seems illegal. Here’s what they have to say about that product on their site:
Guardian Angel, with patented Celltinel technology, is a device that transmits a frequency that inhibits the use of cellular handheld devices within a focused immediate area: The Driver’s Seat
• It has multiple sensors detecting specific criteria for preventing cell phone use for the driver (including texting, and surfing the Internet). This criteria includes preventing driver cell phone use if the vehicle is traveling above a certain speed or if Blue tooth hands free devices are not detected.
• Manufactured or retrofitted into existing vehicle power system. Energizing vehicle system provides prime power to the device, which means that it is not always on.
• Manufactured with multiple sensors controlling the specific criteria for blocking reception. Sensor(s) will, under predetermined conditions, cause the device to operate, i.e. Only When in Motion
Guardian Angel Will Only Transmit When…
Blue tooth hands free IS NOT enabled And vehicle motion is above 15 MPH And cellular communication (Texting or Voice) has been attempted while in motion above 15 MPH
At this time Guardian Angel’s life saving technology is not permitted by the FCC, but Trinity-Noble is seeking to have our technology approved for the sake of public safety.
And from their blog, they tale about a bill that may clear the way for this product to be used legally, oddly enough, the legislation is in a bill for prisons, while the technology seeks to keep people out of prison 
In a nutshell, Bill 251 (Safe Prisons Act of 2009)amends the Communications Act of 1934 (the very Act which is preventing us from legally installing our life saving technology in cars, buses, and trains) to authorize the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons or the chief executive officer of a state to petition the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to permit the installation of devices to prevent, jam, or interfere with wireless communications within the geographic boundaries of a specific prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility under his or her jurisdiction.
Requires that the device be operated on a directional basis, using all other interference-limiting capabilities available to the device, or otherwise so that the device does not interfere with wireless communications that originate and terminate outside the area of the prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility.
Requires the FCC to adopt a final rule establishing criteria for certification for the manufacture, sale, importation, and interstate shipment of such devices.
Should the bill, which is currently before the Commerce Committee, pass Trinity-Noble will be in a better position to seek an amendment to the Act that would be similar to the above, yet require the FCC to establish criteria for certification of Guardian Angel.
The other device they are working on will help more with investigations after a crash actually occurs. It’s a black box of sorts that monitors the radio signals in and around the driver and logs all cell phone usage and what a record of what was actually transmitted. This device is called Autolog.
While this device doesn’t actually prevent cell phone use, it is useful on two fronts: Detailed evidence for the police investigation and useful information for insurance companies after a crash has occurred. Trinity Nobel touts this device as evidence certain that a driver either was distracted or was not distracted in the minutes before and during a crash. There doesn’t seem to be a distinction in data recordation between cells using blue tooth or other hands-free technology and hand held call, no doubt they could smarten up that device given their ability to do so with Guardian Angel.
Both on a health insurance front as well as auto insurance, it’s important for those companies to have clear evidence of the cause of the crash, so they can either affix a cause that releases them from insurance payments they should not owe, or health insurance claims they legally don’t have to pay. While we don’t like it when a claim isn’t paid, if someone is irresponsible enough to use a cell phone while driving and causes a crash, our insurance rates should not take a hit because of it!
Here’s some of what Trinity Nobel has to say about this device on their site:
Autolog is a cell phone detector that is integrated into a vehicle’s electronics, out of reach of the driver. It detects cell phone emission within a specified area, obtains detailed information, such as frequency, range, and action (texting, speaking, etc.), length of emission, in other words it logs all cell phone activity in the driver’s area, and “records” cell phone activity. The system uses patch antenna arrays mounted within close proximity of the driver. Autolog acts in a similar fashion to an airplane’s “black box”. In the event of an accident, law enforcement and/or insurance companies can determine, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the driver was on the phone just prior/during an accident.
A secondary use for Autolog is for the purpose of field research. Traffic studies regarding cell phone use can be conducted technologically rather than manually as is the current method of data collection.
Autolog is a device which is designed to increase vehicle safety by promoting safe usage of a vehicle thru an incentive by Insurance Companies.
By logging unsafe cell phone use, Autolog provides a monitoring service to the insurance companies.
Similar programs by the insurance companies today monitor safe driving behavior. One such program is Progressive’s “TripSense”. Another is GMAC’s monitoring service.
You can download a white paper for the device here
Hopefully one day soon, we can have a unified black box technology set in new cars. The Lehman Center for Crash Studies created by Dr. Jeffrey Augenstein at the Ryder Trauma Center is working towards that goal. In short, the Lehman Center is pushing for unified data sets from black boxes that will help us better understand not just what happens in a crash, but to make cars safer from the data collected. This device could fit in nicely with the rest of the technology being developed.
IF YOU HAVE NOT seen the video we posted in yesterday’s article on DWI vs. DWT, we’ve reposted it below. Everyone that carries a cell phone and sits in the driver seat of a car needs to see this, it WILL make you think twice, I assure you.
This video comes from ZeroFatalities.com — a site with a worthy mission, worthy of your attention. EVERY State should become a part of this amazing site, it represents a new paradigm in safety education.
[…] This post was Twitted by TraumaTweets […]
Distractions occur from other activities beyond texting and cell phones usage … our attention is attracted by interesting signs, kids asking you a question from the back seat, music on the radio as well as many other events on the road and in the car. We will not be able to remove all of those distractions through technology. Improving brain performance – the ability to quickly recognize and make decisions based on what you is happening around you – can improve driving safety because drivers will be able to ignore certain distractions and pay attention to other critical cues. Pairing that with smart legislation, technology and individuals taking responsibility to stop self-inflicted distractions, e.g., texting while driving, will go a long way toward reducing the 6 million accidents that occur in the US annually.
As CEO of Posit Science, the leader in clinically-proven brain fitness software, I wanted to let you know that we just released DriveSharp. It is a software program recommended by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that makes people safer behind the wheel by training the brain to think faster and react quicker. For more information, please go to http://www.drivesharpnow.com
Thanks so much for the information, I hope everyone looks into this, I know I will. We never mean to intemate that texting is the only possible distraction, distractions have been with us much longer than cell phones. We stand against all the major causes of death and trauma injury on our highways, first and foremost, drunk driving, then both distracted driving and drowsy driving. We need to never unfocus attention on any of these matters!