Law? What Law? Texting Continues Behind The Wheel

While a number of states have passed laws making it illegal to send or read texts while driving, the government contends that drivers are still doing it.

A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study says texting behind the wheel increased 50 percent last year. Twenty percent of drivers admit they've dashed off a text message while driving. The study found the younger you are, the more likely you are to have done it.

Driving while talking on a cell phone, also against the law in a number of states, is an even more common practice, the survey found. Most drivers surveyed said they will take a cell phone call while driving.

Distracted driving crackdown

The study is part of the U.S. Transportation Department's push to cut down on “distracted” driving. It's launched a campaign that includes public service announcements targeted to teens. The PSA aired nationwide on Regal Cinema theater screens Thanksgiving week and on gas station pump-top screens owned by Outcast PumpTop TV throughout the month of December.

"Teen drivers are particularly vulnerable to distracted driving, which is why we are making an extra effort to ensure they understand the dangers," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Thanks to the help of Regal Cinemas and Outcast, we're reaching teens directly — whether they're at the movies or filling up their tanks — to emphasize the importance of keeping their eyes on the road, their hands on the wheel, and their focus on driving at all times."

If persuasion doesn't work, there's always technology. Researchers at Rutgers University say they have developed a system that can detect whether a cell phone is being operated by the driver of a car and make it inoperable.

Bluetooth connection

According to the researchers, the system uses a phone's Bluetooth connection, using accoustic waves to measure its position relative to the vehicle's stereo speakers. If the system detects a cell phone is closest to the speaker on the left side of the front seat, it jams the phone signal, while not affecting phones operated by passengers.

Critics point out a number of flaws to the system, including the fact that it wouldn't work in cars without Bluetooth connectivity, which at the moment is most of them. Some posters on message boards also found the idea a little creepy.

“The ability for any government to reach out and shut down an individual's cell phone, automobile, or anything else is an overreach of government into the private lives of its citizens,” Jim, from Texas, said. “It smacks of an Orwellian society, which should be an anathema to all freedom loving people.”

Effectiveness questioned

The Transportation Department says about 5,500 people died and 500,000 people were injured in 2009 because of distracted driving. But Adrian Lund, of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, says texting bans have not improved safety on the road.

“In a perverse twist, crashes increased in three of the four states we studied after bans were enacted," Lund said earlier this year. "It's an indication that texting bans might even increase the risk of texting for drivers who continue to do so despite the laws."