Texting
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Texting while driving is still a major problem, apparently.
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Peter Frampton Hit By Woman Breaking All The Rules (About Texting)Rock legend Peter Frampton is used to mixing it up with women, but not while stuck in traffic. (Well, not that we know of.) Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened yesterday, and today, Frampton's back and neck are paying the price. According to the musician's Twitter page, Frampton was in...
Richard Read -
Ford Sync Reads Text Messages Aloud, Starting Today
We've reviewed a number of smartphone apps that read texts aloud to drivers -- apps like DriveSafe.ly, PhoneGuard, and SafeCell -- but we've seen very few text-to-speech applications from automakers themselves. Ford is a notable exception. Through its popular Sync infotainment system, Ford recently...
Richard Read -
"New Message: Your Car Has Been Stolen"... With A Text
Getting text messages from friends or loved ones is always welcome. Spam messages from companies can be a nuisance. Having someone unlock and start your car with a text message is much more concerning. Unfortunately, it's not impossible, and researchers from San Francisco security consulting firm...
Antony Ingram -
U.S. House Mulls In-Car Cell Phone Ban
A bill in the U.S. House would ban holding cell phones while driving, except in case of emergency.
Tim Healey -
Ray LaHood Wants Less Tech In Cars, More Ads About Distracted Driving: Video
You can call U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood many things, but "slouch" isn't on the list. At a time when computing and social media are expanding to fill every corner of our daily lives, LaHood is pushing back, urging automakers to limit the technology included in new cars. Not only...
Richard Read -
If you're the sort of person who's tempted to take calls while driving -- or worse, answer text messages -- there are dozens of apps to help curb your addition. Now, Sprint is making the process even easier by pre-installing the Drive First app on every Android phone. Drive First works like many other anti-distracted-driving apps we've seen, including PhoneGuard, SafeCell, and DriveSafe.ly. When the phone's accelerometer registers a certain speed (usually around 10 mph), it automatically shuts off most features: incoming calls are sent straight to voicemail; text-message alerts are turned off...
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New Jersey Police Get MINI Cooper As New Patrol Car
We’ve seen plenty of special police cars in the past, including a Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911 and even an impounded Dodge Viper, but the latest is just too cute to ignore. BMW has this week presented the Woodcliff Lake police department in New Jersey with a brand new MINI Cooper. The...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
T-Mobile Joins The Battle Against Distracted Driving With DriveSmart
Over the past few months, we've seen a number of smartphone apps designed to curb distracted driving -- namely, SafeCell, PhoneGuard, and Mashable's mobile app of the year, DriveSafe.ly. Now a nationwide carrier has joined the fray: T-Mobile, with its DriveSmart service. Of the various apps...
Richard Read -
Acclaimed Hollywood Plastic Surgeon May Have Died While Tweeting
We don't know for sure what caused Dr. Frank Ryan's 1995 Jeep Wrangler to hurtle off the Pacific Coast Highway and down a cliff on Monday afternoon. We do know, however, that he didn't survive the crash. We also know that he was tweeting moments earlier. That doesn't sound good. Thankfully, Ryan's...
Richard Read -
Study: Nighttime Teen Deaths Up, Cellphone Distraction To Blame
If you have a new teen driver in the house and are thinking about setting some ground rules on when they can or can't take out the car, ruling out most of the nighttime hours might be a good start.
Bengt Halvorson -
Study: teens kill virtual pedestrians when texting while driving
We all know someone who's fused to their cell phone, texting, talking, twittering and incessantly updating their calendars - even when behind the wheel. The problem is rampant among teens, and a new study confirms the obvious: it's dangerous to text behind the wheel. It's equally dangerous to use...
Nelson Ireson -
Mobile communications devices are truly coming into their own with the BlackBerry, iPhone, Sidekick and more making it easier than ever to stay connected via the Internet, voice and text. But all that connectivity can be a major distraction behind the wheel, and so Aegis Mobility has developed a service that helps keep drivers focused on the road ahead by intercepting calls and messages when subscriber is driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving causes 80 percent of all accidents. Just a few weeks ago, a study was released claiming texting...
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Text messaging deemed more dangerous than alcohol or cannabis behind the wheel
While driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has long been demonized by safety groups and the government, it turns out a much more dangerous vice is lurking on our roads - text messaging. Research carried out by the UK's Transport Research Laboratory confirms what common sense tells us -...
Ralph Hanson
