Feds Explore Technology To Disable Cell Phones In Cars

When drunk driving became an alarming road hazard, technology came up with a breathalyzer that would not allow the car to start if the driver had been drinking.

Now, a similar device might be in the works to address a new driving issue - people who talk or text on cell phones while driving. The idea is being taken seriously in Washington.

Appearing on the cable news channel MSNBC last week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said his department is investigating to see if current technology can be used to disable cell phones in vehicles.

"There's a lot of technology out there than can disable phones, and we're looking at that," LaHood said.

LaHood said the idea gained a lot of traction earlier this year at the Transportation Department's Distracted Driving Summit. It's not clear what form the anti-cell phone technology would be deployed, but wireless experts say signal scrambling technology may be the most obvious.

"I think it will be done," LaHood said. 

Federal and state governments have taken a variety of steps to reduce the number of people who drive while talking or texting, increasingly blamed for traffic accidents. In June the Senate Commerce Committee approved a bipartisan bill that would reward states for banning drivers from talking on cell phones or sending and receiving text messages.

In August the Transportation Department kicked off pilot programs in Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York to test whether increased law enforcement efforts can get distracted drivers to put down their cell phones and focus on the road.

The pilot programs, which are similar to previous efforts to curb drunken driving and increase seat belt use among drivers, were the first federally funded efforts in the country to specifically focus on the effects of increased enforcement and public advertising on reducing distracted driving. Drivers caught texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone will be pulled over and ticketed.