At this point, we’ve all heard tell of the many dangers of using smartphones while driving. And we’ve all probably also ignored those dangers at one point or another, which has led 47 states to establish bans on what’s now become the leading cause of death for teenage drivers—texting. So how much will you be coughing up for all that behind-the-wheel screen tapping?
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One can’t stress enough just how bad texting while driving is. Countless incidents have been reported from all around the world where drivers have caused serious injury or even death just because they thought they could multitask. The appellate division of New Jersey Superior Court has released a new opinion under which it establishes that the sender of a text message can potentially be liable if an incident is caused, though they’re likely to liable if they know that the recipient is behind the wheel.
In this particular matter the sender has “limited duty.” One can’t obviously know right from the start that the recipient is driving. However, once the sender has been made aware that the other person is driving and “know that the recipient would view the text while driving and thus be distracted,” they can be held liable if the recipient causes an injury while reading or responding to that text. As previously mentioned, this is just an opinion that the Superior Court released recently, its not actually a formal law. Nevertheless, there exists a possibility that New Jersey might consider prosecuting people in the future if they knowingly text someone who is driving and that results in an incident.
NJ Might Hold You Liable If You Text Someone While They’re Driving original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Texting while driving has been one activity a good majority of people realize is a terrible idea, and yet there are a number of us who can’t help but to take our eyes off the road for a few seconds to read and maybe respond to a text. But one thing we think we can all agree on is if you’re a school bus driver you should refrain from such activities, especially if you’re working.
Robert Stancheski from Seminole County, Florida is being accused of texting while driving his designated route, which shouldn’t be a surprise to learn it’s against school policy to do so, that is, unless it’s an absolute emergency. Unfortunately for Stancheski, it wasn’t and he was caught performing his dirty deed twice on video.
In one of the videos, Stancheski can be seen checking his phone while the bus is moving, taking his eyes off the road a number of times and even going as far as taking both hands off the wheel in order to fully access his device. According to reports, it seems this isn’t his first time getting caught for texting while driving as Stancheski was suspended last April for it.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Voyager Smartphone Prefers To Remain In The Car, Volvo Relies On Crowdsourcing For New App,
Gadget modder extraordinaire, Benjamin Heckendorn, has returned with season 3 of The Ben Heck Show. Along with new segments such as news, viewer questions and rants, you’ll find that Ben has whipped up a creative solution to the problem of texting while driving. Using the ShopBot CNC router, Ben carves out a chastity belt of sorts — his words, not ours — to form the casing of a system that will sound an alarm whenever one’s car is running and their phone isn’t in the protective dock. The anti-texting system also logs its status to an SD card, which can then be reviewed at a later time. It won’t be until next week’s episode that we get to see the final product, but all the geeky bits that make this project possible can be found in the season opener, which you’ll find right after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Mobile
The Ben Heck Show kicks off season 3 by clamping down on texting while driving (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 21:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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AT&T’s already working on an app to keep folks from texting while driving, but earlier this month it gave folks at a Los Angeles hackathon the chance to develop their own solution. David Grau, a creative director and designer at an interactive agency, and 11-year-old Victoria Walker were awarded $20,000 by Big Blue to bring their smartphone application to the public. Dubbed Rode Dog, the prize-winning software allows friends and family to organize themselves into “packs” and monitor their text messaging habits. Watchful users can spot when a fellow group member is texting and initiate a barking noise on the offender’s phone. Much like squawking seat belt systems, the app is designed to remind drivers of their wrongdoing and doesn’t stop the ruckus until they acknowledge it. If you’d rather have a chicken or other animal grab your attention, the duo crafted an in-app shop that offers other wildlife sound sound effects. Rode Dog isn’t expected to hit iOS, Android and Windows Phone until its fully polished, but you can sign up to receive word of its launch at the second source link below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Mobile
11-year-old wins $20,000 at AT&T hackathon for creating app that discourages texting while driving originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 05:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Phone use while driving is still a serious problem in the US, even for those trying to quit — which makes us happy to see Magellan doing its part to change travellers’ habits. Out of five new RoadMate GPS units the company is releasing to the world, the Bluetooth-equipped, 4.3-inch 2255T-LMB and 5-inch 5265T-LMB models both carry a Safe Texting mode that can reply to any inbound voice call with a text, supplying either the arrival time or the promise of a call later on. All five of the navigators support a portrait view for more details of the road ahead, and the top two 5-inch devices support Magellan’s $150 Back-Up Camera for delicate parking jobs. We’ll have to wait until September before the RoadMates arrive, but the sub-$200 prices will be a relief to other drivers who want at least a few more eyes on the road.
Filed under: GPS
Magellan unveils RoadMate GPS units with auto-replies to calls, earns fellow drivers’ gratitude originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 08:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Despite our love of gadgets, we’re not willing to give any slack to people that text while driving, and for one good reason: it’s freaking dangerous. You’ve heard the grim stories before, but few incidents resonate to the heart of the matter like that of Chance Bothe from Texas. Despite his better judgment, the young man was texting a childhood friend while trying to bring the conversation to a close by saying, “I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident.” That message was followed by one more, an unfortunate, “b right there.” Regrettably, that final text caused him to miss a slight curve in the road and careen into a ravine. Chance is alive today — thanks in large part to the fact that the accident was witnessed — but the recovery hasn’t been easy. In addition to a broken neck, a number of fractures and severe head trauma, he’s already undergone two facial reconstructions. In the wake of the accident, Chance’s friends and family have founded UnSend, an organization that dedicates itself to raising awareness about the dangers of texting and driving. Chance, too, is using his experience to educate others: “They just need to understand, don’t do it. Don’t do it. It’s not worth losing your life.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation
Texas man foretells dire outcome: messages ‘I need to quit texting,’ before driving into ravine originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 06:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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More and more people understand that texting while driving is a bad idea, but RIM has just been granted a patent that would have smartphones step in before things get out of hand. Going beyond just filtering inbound messages like some motion-based lockdown apps, the BlackBerry maker’s invention also turns off the creation of any outbound messages as long as the phone is moving within a given speed range. The override for the lock is the dictionary definition of ironic, however: the technique makes owners type out the answer to a CAPTCHA challenge onscreen, encouraging the very problem it’s meant to stop. As much as we could still see the hassle being enough to deter some messaging-addicted drivers, we have a hunch that the miniscule hurdle is a primary reason why the 2009-era patent hasn’t found its way into a shipping BlackBerry. Maybe RIM should have chronic texters solve a Rubik’s Cube instead.
Filed under: Cellphones
RIM patent uses motion, CAPTCHAs to stop texting while driving, shows a fine appreciation of irony originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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