Bluetooth Technology Blocks Mobile Phones While Driving
Researchers at The University of Utah have developed an automobile ignition key that prevents users from talking on cell phones or sending text messages while driving. The university obtained provisional patents and licensed the invention “Key2SafeDriving” to a private company that hopes to get it to market within six months with a target cost of less than $50 per key plus a yet-undetermined monthly service fee.
“The key to safe driving is to avoid distraction,” says Xuesong Zhou, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering who co-invented the system with Wally Curry, a University of Utah graduate now practicing medicine in Hays, Kan. “We want to provide a simple, cost-effective solution to improve driving safety.”
Zhou notes that “at any given time, about 6 percent of travelers on the road are talking on a cell phone while driving. Also at any given time, 10 percent of teenagers who are driving are talking or texting.” Studies have shown drivers using cell phones are about four times more likely to get in a crash than other drivers.
Comments are closed.