As a teen, Nicole Pitcher says it wasn’t uncommon to shoot a text message to a friend, sip a pop and bob her head to a favorite tune – all while driving.
Now 24 and a stay-at-home mom with a 10-month-old daughter, Pitcher says her driving habits have improved.
“I’m older, and it’s not that big of a deal to text message anymore,” said Pitcher, who upgraded her phone at the Sprint retail store on Coliseum Boulevard a few days ago. “I just don’t have to know what my friends are doing every second of the day.”
Pitcher’s habits have changed, but for drivers lacking discipline, technology companies are offering applications to prevent road hazards.
The developments are limited, though, and might not stop the push for legislation to penalize drivers who text and drive.
Rep. Joe Pearson, D-Hartford City, certainly hopes not. The state legislator wrote the Indiana bill that would have assessed up to a $500 fine to any driver caught texting. The Senate Republican caucus declined to hear the bill, however.
“It’s the same with driving under the influence of alcohol or medication,” said Pearson, noting lawmakers last year made it illegal for drivers younger than 18 to text.
Regardless of whether additional legislation gains support, Florida businessman Jonathan Young could profit from the hubbub.
He recently started Textecution, a service that disables Android-based mobile phones from receiving text messages. The Android platform, developed by Google Inc., runs applications on various smart phones.
Young said he is in talks with a major telecommunications company to add his service to its list of features. He doesn’t classify himself as a techie but rather a concerned father of a teenage son.
“He had just started driving and had his learner’s permit,” said Young, president of Young Enterprises in Jacksonville, a company whose portfolio includes real estate sales.
“I recognized the dangers of texting and driving,” Young said. “I wanted to do something more than just tell him to be careful.”
He contracted a company to develop a GPS software application that would shut down a phone’s text-messaging function if a user travels faster than 10 mph. An override option is included for a passenger on a bus or train.
It is available for $39.95 at www.textecution.com.
Young’s invention has caught the attention of corporate bosses as well, he said, because of the threat of “vicarious liability.”
“That’s just a fancy way of saying if you have someone working for you and they cause an accident while texting, the company’s going to get sued,” Young said.
David Teater has followed the text-messaging issue in Indiana. He is senior director of transportation initiatives for the National Safety Council in Itasca, Ill.
“It makes no sense why that bill wasn’t passed,” he said of the measure shot down last month. Nineteen states have passed similar bans.
“Text messaging while driving has become an epidemic. Several opinion polls show that everybody supports laws to enforce cell-phone use in vehicles.
“This is a new and emerging threat.”
And industry officials back such legislation.
Verizon Communications Inc. spokesman David Clevenger said the company has always supported laws aimed at safety.
“Operating a motor vehicle is your primary responsibility,” he said. “People need to pay attention to the road.”
AT&T Inc. officials view the issue similarly.
“The safety of consumers has always been a priority for AT&T, and we are very supportive of efforts to discourage texting while driving,” AT&T spokeswoman Jackie Janus wrote in an e-mail.
“We recently launched a campaign to educate our own employees, our customers and the general public about using wireless devices safely while driving. Ultimately, our goal is to help generate a change in thinking and behavior of all wireless users.”
CTIA – The Wireless Association, formally known as the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, a year ago rejected a ban on cell phone use in cars.
“We’ve changed our stance,” said John Walls, spokesman for the Washington, D.C., trade group. “It’s important, however, that laws are passed on real data and not anecdotal experience.”
Walls said some traffic data show that crashes are on the decline, “which makes me think that if using a cell phone is truly as risky and dangerous as it’s made out to be then why aren’t there more accidents?”
Pearson believes a decrease in accidents has nothing to do with wireless technology being any less of a safety risk in vehicles.
“Sending a text message has you take your eyes off the road, your hands off the wheel and your mind off the road,” he said. “It’s a lethal combination.”
