Technology, Texting While Driving | featured news

The pilot of a medical helicopter that ran out of fuel and crashed, killing all four people aboard, was distracted by text messages when he should have been conducting pre-flight checks, accident investigators said Tuesday.

"Texting while driving is not just a teen problem," says John Ulczycki of the National Safety Council. "Teens text. But you're looking at around 10 million teen drivers, but about 180 million other adult drivers."

...There’s little doubt that motorists want more connectivity, despite the worrisome traffic statistics. But many experts are betting that so-called connected car technologies can be put to work reducing the number of accidents, injuries and deaths on America’s roadways.

PhoneGuard is an app which disables a phone's texting functions whenever it detects the user moving more than 10 miles per hour-like when they may be behind the wheel of a car.

Google hired a lobbyist to promote legislation for the licensing of autonomous vehicles, and an exemption that would permit texting while driving to operate such a car.