Unless we make some big changes in attitudes regarding cellphone use, there's trouble ahead. Why? Teens who are going to be of driving age this year or in the next few years are texting in record numbers. It's not just a stirring of interest; it's an explosion. On average, teen cellphone users are...Read More»
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has asked automakers to do more to educate drivers on the hazards of talking or texting while driving. Certainly, LaHood and other safety officials are worried that devices, such as Ford's Sync interface, that make calling or texting easier from behind the...Read More»
We all know how dangerous--and illegal--texting while driving can be. We also know that if we don't respond to that message within the next five minutes, the world will end. OK, so it won't end, but it's important. That's where Vlingo InCar comes in. The Vlingo InCar beta app for Android allows...Read More»
If you know that talking or texting while driving is illegal, are you just as likely to do it, but in a more concealed way that takes your eyes away from the road and jeopardizes safety? That's one of the potential explanations for new data from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), the research...Read More»
We've written a lot about the dangers of distracted driving, particularly texting and driving. Say what you will about Oprah Winfrey, but she's right when she insists that no one can safely text and drive. However, there are a couple of instances where texting and driving make for a good...Read More»
It seems like just yesterday we were discussing GM's plans for OnStar, and now, we're getting more information about the popular telematics system's new offerings -- namely, a voice-to-text feature that will allow users to speak their Facebook updates and listen to their Facebook mail. The feature...Read More»
Teens know that talking, texting, and eating while driving are among many dangerous distractions. Despite that, the majority of teens do them, at least occasionally, anyway. According to a new survey conducted by Seventeen magazine and AAA, nearly nine of ten drivers (86 percent) have driven while...Read More»
Texting while driving: It’s a known vice; it endangers the welfare of others; and now your doctor might try to talk to you about it. In the last issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Amy M. Ship, MD, argues that physicians are in a position to spot harmful behavior and influence patients...Read More»
You should know better by now not to buckle up, buckle up your loved ones, and avoid texting while driving altogether. But, increasingly, it's also the law. Last week, both Georgia and Vermont joined 26 other states in banning text messaging by all drivers. The Vermont rule went into effect June 1...Read More»
Last year, a very graphic, very disturbing film called COW premiered on British television. Its aim: to drive home the dangers of texting behind the wheel. To hype the show, Tredegar Comprehensive School and Gwent Police launched a trailer for the film on YouTube. Despite being over four minutes...Read More»
Last week, we told you about a group of University of Michigan students who'd been developing apps for cars. Now, some of those students are about to give their work a test drive -- a long, cross-country test drive in a new Ford Fiesta. But they won't be going it alone: in Fiesta #2, some road trip...Read More»
Yeah, you read that headline correctly: nominally sane, calm-and-composed morning show hostess Meredith Vieira lost it last Friday morning and shouted "Oh, s***!" on live, national television. The cause of Vieira's profanity? A demonstration in the dangers of distracted driving. Last Friday was...Read More»
Most of us adults--and teen drivers--now know that texting while driving is bad news. Yet about three fourths of all teens admit to texting while driving, even though the practice is banned for all drivers in 23 states in addition to the District of Columbia. And that's not even considering the...Read More»
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has worked tirelessly to curtail distracted driving. Now, he's funding a pilot program designed to raise awareness about the dangers of talking and texting behind the wheel, and to ticket those who don't heed the warnings. The program will be centered on...Read More»
When New Jersey tells you not to use a handheld cellphone to talk or text while driving, they mean it. In the 23 months since New Jersey's ban of talking or texting on handheld cellphones, police have written 224,725 citations, according to the NJ Star-Ledger—adding up to about four percent of...Read More»
Given all the news about distracted driving -- especially the problem of teens and their tendency to text behind the wheel -- it was only a matter of time before someone came out with a solution. And now, as they say, there's an app for that: Cell Cease. Cell Cease uses the GPS built into many...Read More»
Here at TCC and throughout the auto media, distracted driving has been a hot topic. From eating to in-car internet, we've discussed the dangers, the myths, and the results of taking your attention off the road when you're behind the wheel. Our colleagues at AutoWeek recently decided to ditch the...Read More»
If you upgrade to one of today's most popular high-end smartphones—like the iPhone or a Blackberry—from a standard flip-phone, you might be surprised to find that you can no longer take advantage of some of the features in today's most technologically advanced vehicles. Even in Ford's...Read More»
Here's a surprising result: Looking purely at the frequency of crashes before and after enactment, new laws that restrict the use of handheld cellphone use (calling and/or texting) while driving produce no recognizable reduction in crashes. So find researchers from the Highway Loss Data Institute...Read More»
