Texting While Driving Apps: Helpful or Harmful?

Texting while driving…it’s a relatively new issue and something drivers never had to deal with until the last five years or so. But it’s become a giant problem for people both on and off the road. As accidents related to distracted driving increase in number, it has become a bigger concern, and many states have passed laws forbidding texting or talking while driving, unless it’s hands-free. Still, laws can only go so far, and it’s easy to get away with sending off a quick note to a friend while traveling at high speeds down the freeway.

A few companies are trying to keep up with the new danger, but as to whether or not they’re succeeding – well, that’s debatable. An article recently published in the Huffington Post highlighted a few companies that are trying to come up with an effective solution to prevent texting while driving.

A few start-ups have created applications to curb the temptation to text and drive. But these applications often work only on certain phones and have trouble recognizing if a user actually driving. Some of the tools, the article says, may not even improve safety at all. For example, Drive Safely Corporation created a software that would go into cell phones, detecting with a built in GPS chip when a device is moving faster than 15 mph. And to figure out whom the phone is being used by – driver or passengers, who can safely text in the car, the software flashes a set of numbers and letters the user has to type in to unlock the phone. Their assumption is that drivers won’t be able or willing to match the long code, and would rest from using their phone, deterring distraction while driving.

But it seems likely that this could actually have the reverse effect, distracting a driver even more with a long password as they try to crack the code while traveling at high speeds. By making the task difficult, you make it even more dangerous for the driver and others on the road.

The article details a few more applications originally meant to help but that possibly make for more problems by way of a solution. Most are limited in one way or another, and while they’re well intentioned, it might be the job of the car company to figure out a solution. Maybe a heads-up display or eye tracking?

Texting-While-Driving Apps Help You Focus On The Road

Related articles:

1. Google Introduces Hands-Free Driving
2. Biometric Devices: Can An Electronic Driving Coach Make Safer Roads?
3. Eye Tracking: Driving Simulation for U.S. Army Training