Distracted Driving

Finally! A Solution to the Distracted Driving Menace: Revolutionary Software Monitors Mobiles

Texting with cellular phones while driving is a leading cause of car crashes. The US Dept of Transportation reported almost 6,000 people died and over a half million were injured during 2008 in crashes involving driver distraction.

Earlier this year the US Transportation Department presented a proposal to forbid text messaging at the wheel by cross-state truck and bus drivers. The proposal would make permanent an interim ban announced in January by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The planned ban applies to bus drivers and truck drivers driving vehicles with a gross vehicle weight over ten thousand pounds. To give an idea of the serious nature of the problem, the drivers could face civil penalities and/or even criminal penalties.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is sponsoring research to find out the extent of the distraction issue. States aren’t waiting for research reports and are enacting new regulations dealing with cell phone calls and texting . The GHSA purports to say it supports texting bans for all drivers, but does have concerns about enforcement.

The trucking and passenger bus trade associations support the texting ban, and many corporations have firm policies restricting sending text messages when behind the wheel. The issue is a relatively new phenomenon. As navigation systems, cellphones and other mobile electronics have become ubiquitous in vehicles, safety advocates and the government have pushed for action.

GPS Tracking is a key component to the Distracted Driving Solution. Mobile communications means more than just making a phone call while moving. However GPS satellites aren’t always available, such as when the handset is in a structure such as an office, mall, or even in an automobile. That doesn’t mean mobile phone tracking isn’t possible, but it does mean there are other ways of being a locator.

GPS on cell phones is what people usually think of when considering locating cell phones. GPS (Global Positioning System) using satellites is the most common and more accurate technology of tracking. However GPS needs satellites to be in direct line of site of the mobile phone. It doesn’t work as well indoors or in crowded cities.

Another issue with handset GPS tracking is the possibility of battery drain. It is important to be able to remotely adjust how often of taking GPS position. GPS receivers often take a long time to become ready to navigate after it’s turned on because it must acquire some basic information in addition to finding GPS satellite signals. This slow start is sometimes caused when the GPS mobile phone has been turned off for days or weeks, or has been moved a far distance while unused for. The GPS must update its almanac and ephemeris data and store it in memory. The GPS almanac is a set of data that every GPS satellite transmits. When a GPS receiver has current almanac data in memory, it can acquire signals and compute initial position more quickly.

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