subject: The Key to Text Blocker and Cell Phone Blocker Devices [print this page] The Key to Text Blocker and Cell Phone Blocker Devices
With the ever increasing attention that both law makers and the general public are dedicating to distracted driving concerns, we have seen the appearance of the cell phone blocker market. These cell phone blocker devices are intended to block cell phone use while driving. There are many different designs out on the market today which leads to the question, "Do cell phone blocker devices really work?"
There are a couple of different models on the market right now. Let's examine the pros and cons and see which ones really work. GPS cell phone blockers are, by far, the most typical in this new market. They are not a bad idea, and they tend to be cheaper, but they do have some imperfections. Essentially, they work by keeping your GPS on and if the GPS shows that you are traveling at a speed above a specific threshold (such as faster than a person can jog), it will prevent you from dialing or texting from your phone. This is pretty effective, but can sometimes be impractical. For instance, whether you are in the driver seat or the passenger seat, the software won't be able to tell the difference. So, if you are a passenger and want to speak on the phone, you're out of luck. Something else to think about is that this method of text blocking can run into problems if there is especially bad weather or if you are in an area where satellite signals are difficult to receive/send (such as a tunnel or underpass).
The Bluetooth method appears to be much more practical. The only one that I have seen use this method is Safe Driving Systems. Safe Driving Systems uses technology patented by the University of Utah to connect cell phones to the vehicle's OBD port. Their device, called Key 2 Safe Driving, utilizes a blue tooth dongle which plugs directly into the car's OBD port. The dongle then sends a signal to the phone, letting it know if the car is moving or not. If the car is running and moving, the dongle will alert the phone to enter "Safe Driving Mode" which locks down the keyboard and text/call notifications. Your texts will go straight to your inbox and your calls go straight to voicemail. Then, once the car stops moving, the phone will alert that you have messages. This method avoids the problems that GPS methods suffer and it also lets you to set up custom rules so that you can still talk when you are not driving. Another feature of Key 2 Safe Driving is the fact that you can make emergency calls to 911 and 2 other pre-programmed numbers if you need to. I did not observe this very often with the GPS based cell phone blocker devices. Finally, the Bluetooth dongle forces your phone to keep its Bluetooth on, so you cannot "cheat" by disengaging your Bluetooth. Also, if you unplug the dongle or try to turn off the Bluetooth or software, it will send a text to the device administrator (usually a boss or parent) letting them know that the device has been tampered with. It seems to be rather fool proof and much more practical than the GPS text blocker devices.
The bottom line is, "No Cell Drive, Saves Lives." We need to make sure we do not let our cell phones distract us at all.
