TXTBlocker has announced a new product for cell phones that allows owners to disable texting and other functions while a user is driving. The announcement was nicely timed for the same week that the Department of Transportation held a distracted driving conference.
The service will be available in the fall. It requires software to be installed on the phone, and the list of compatible devices are here. It's a pretty sparse list right now, with only a few Windows Mobile devices, and a bunch of Blackberrys. No Symbian phones, no Palm Pre, and no iPhone (which will be near impossible for TXTBlocker to work on, since the iPhone does not allow background processing, meaning only one program at a time can run).
TXTBlocker costs $9.99 / month, with a one-time setup fee of $24.99. There's a discount if you pay for the year in advance. There's also a pomotional family plan which is only available through December 31, 2009.
TXTBlocker is pretty sophisticated in the options it allows an "adminstrator" to select. For example, while you can disable calls while the phone / car is moving, you can also allow calls made via a Bluetooth headset (only). You can also prevent use of a cell phone at school or work. You can also whitelist certain numbers. 911 calls will always work.
When the phone is "disabled," text messages and emails are stored and held until a "safe state" is reached. An automatic text message is sent as a reply to senders to let them know that TXTBlocker is active. Phone calls are sent to voicemail.
This is all very cool, and as a new parent, I like the ability to block phone usage at school, while still allowing whitelisted numbers to go through.
All of this technology is necessary because, even with laws in place, many teenagers have said they will ignore the laws and just text and call as they want. The laws in place also don't have severe enough fines to really act as a deterrent (at least in California, where I live, where the fine is a mere $20 for the first offense and $50 afterward.
Given that, even if laws were in place in every state banning texting while driving, and perhaps requiring hands-free setups for drivers, many would ignore them. I see many ignoring California's laws even now.
If we can't convince people to obey the law, perhaps technology it the way to go. TXTBlocker sounds like a great idea (at least for parents). Hopefully, they'll ramp up their device support quickly.
Meanwhile, showing the federal government's concern over distracted driving, in addition to the conference, on Wednesday night President Barack Obama signed an executive order banning federal employees from texting while driving. The order went into effect immediately, covering 4.5 million employees, including service personnel.
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