Have to jump back in here on this issue…There isn’t anyone out there on the front lines of the texting while driving issue that thinks that any Speech to Text software is anything other that just another form of texting while driving. Still fumbling with technology instead of focusing on the 5,000 pounds of steel and glass they sitting in. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association website, there is no indication that hands-free use is any safer than handheld.
Why would any individual or corporation think that that Speech to Text would cover their liability? If anything it may be the cause of an accident instead of what prevented it!
As a father I cannot see how Speech to Text is anything other than another way to text and drive and potentially as dangerous.
However, I am clearly no longer objective on this issue as I mentioned earlier in the comments… I decided to do something about it after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver last fall. Instead of software that further distracts the user (especially teens), I built a tool that is a simple, GPS based texting auto reply app called OTTER for smartphones. Its an easy way to manage that text and drive temptation and get the driver’s eyes back on the road where they belong.
I think we live in a culture where business people need to ‘hit the ball over the net’. Teens consider it rude not to reply immediately to texts. Home schedules would grind to a halt without immediate communication. We are conditioned to pursue this level of efficiency but we are all supposed cease this behavior once we sit in our respective 5,000 pound pieces of steel and glass. Anyone can win an argument in a forum like this by saying “Just put the phone away” – but we can see its just not happening.
I just read that 72% of teens text daily – many text more 4000 times a month. New college students no longer have email addresses! They use texting and Facebook – even with their professors. This text and drive issue is in its infancy and I think we need to do more than legislate.
I decided to do something about it after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver. Instead of a shackle that locks down phones and alienates the user (especially teens) I built a tool called OTTER that is a simple GPS based texting auto reply app for smartphones. I think if we can empower the individual then change will come to our highways now and not just our laws.
But how do you enforce a law like this? How can you accurately determine (especially on the highway) that someone is texting as opposed to dialing a cell phone, playing with an iPod or setting a GPS? The last 3 activities are still legal in most states. This whole “texting ban” is a sham and everyone behind this legislation has known it from the beginning. Just more wasted dollars.
Laws against texting are as useful as laws against jaywalking in my opinion.
Mark Edwards, Director of Traffic Safety at the American Automobile Association stated, “The research tells us that somewhere between 25-50 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in this country really have driver distraction as their root cause.”
The distractions are many, but according to a study conducted by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), texting — rubbernecking — or slowing down to gawk at another accident — caused the most accidents, accounting for 16 percent of all distraction-related crashes.
“I’ve had as many as three accidents at one scene, at one intersection,” says Officer John Carney of the Fairfax County Police. “Rubbernecking is the most dangerous distraction, in my experience.”
After rubbernecking, other common driver distractions included:
Driver fatigue (12 percent, see below)
Looking at scenery (10 percent)
Other passengers or children (9 percent)
Adjusting the radio, cassette or CD player (7 percent)
Reading the newspaper, books, maps or other documents (less than 2 percent)
Another increasingly serious cause of driver distraction is cell phone use, as more than 85 percent of the estimated 100 million cell-phone users talk on their phone regularly while driving, according to a Prevention magazine survey. At least one study has found that driving and talking on a cell phone at the same time quadruples the risk of crashing, which is why many cities have recently begun banning their use while driving unless a hands-free device is used.
I just discovered that my Android phone has a text to voice feature. That means I can hold the phone to my mouth and speak out a text all while keeping both eyes on the road. Most smartphones should have a similar feature.
Lund said… “what they might have been doing was moving their phones down and out of sight when they texted, in recognition that what they were doing was illegal.”
That’s the truth. The law–and fear of enforcement–increases the risk. Not sure what the solution is.
People are always going to crash no matter what the excuse is. We are human. Cars are getting safer and safer and that needs to continue because we will always crash.
Does the response back to you come in voice? If not, you have to pick it up and read it…or attempt to read it……ooops…didn’t see that lady crossing the street.
Interesting comments by all and I’m confident that no one can agree with the alleged findings of the study. Cell phone use of any type by the driver should be prohibited while the vehicle is in motion.
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Have to jump back in here on this issue…There isn’t anyone out there on the front lines of the texting while driving issue that thinks that any Speech to Text software is anything other that just another form of texting while driving. Still fumbling with technology instead of focusing on the 5,000 pounds of steel and glass they sitting in. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association website, there is no indication that hands-free use is any safer than handheld.
Why would any individual or corporation think that that Speech to Text would cover their liability? If anything it may be the cause of an accident instead of what prevented it!
As a father I cannot see how Speech to Text is anything other than another way to text and drive and potentially as dangerous.
However, I am clearly no longer objective on this issue as I mentioned earlier in the comments… I decided to do something about it after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver last fall. Instead of software that further distracts the user (especially teens), I built a tool that is a simple, GPS based texting auto reply app called OTTER for smartphones. Its an easy way to manage that text and drive temptation and get the driver’s eyes back on the road where they belong.
Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
OTTER app
I think we live in a culture where business people need to ‘hit the ball over the net’. Teens consider it rude not to reply immediately to texts. Home schedules would grind to a halt without immediate communication. We are conditioned to pursue this level of efficiency but we are all supposed cease this behavior once we sit in our respective 5,000 pound pieces of steel and glass. Anyone can win an argument in a forum like this by saying “Just put the phone away” – but we can see its just not happening.
I just read that 72% of teens text daily – many text more 4000 times a month. New college students no longer have email addresses! They use texting and Facebook – even with their professors. This text and drive issue is in its infancy and I think we need to do more than legislate.
I decided to do something about it after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver. Instead of a shackle that locks down phones and alienates the user (especially teens) I built a tool called OTTER that is a simple GPS based texting auto reply app for smartphones. I think if we can empower the individual then change will come to our highways now and not just our laws.
Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
OTTER app
A ban does nothing if it is not enforced.
But how do you enforce a law like this? How can you accurately determine (especially on the highway) that someone is texting as opposed to dialing a cell phone, playing with an iPod or setting a GPS? The last 3 activities are still legal in most states. This whole “texting ban” is a sham and everyone behind this legislation has known it from the beginning. Just more wasted dollars.
Laws against texting are as useful as laws against jaywalking in my opinion.
. Distracted Drivers
Mark Edwards, Director of Traffic Safety at the American Automobile Association stated, “The research tells us that somewhere between 25-50 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in this country really have driver distraction as their root cause.”
The distractions are many, but according to a study conducted by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), texting — rubbernecking — or slowing down to gawk at another accident — caused the most accidents, accounting for 16 percent of all distraction-related crashes.
“I’ve had as many as three accidents at one scene, at one intersection,” says Officer John Carney of the Fairfax County Police. “Rubbernecking is the most dangerous distraction, in my experience.”
After rubbernecking, other common driver distractions included:
Driver fatigue (12 percent, see below)
Looking at scenery (10 percent)
Other passengers or children (9 percent)
Adjusting the radio, cassette or CD player (7 percent)
Reading the newspaper, books, maps or other documents (less than 2 percent)
Another increasingly serious cause of driver distraction is cell phone use, as more than 85 percent of the estimated 100 million cell-phone users talk on their phone regularly while driving, according to a Prevention magazine survey. At least one study has found that driving and talking on a cell phone at the same time quadruples the risk of crashing, which is why many cities have recently begun banning their use while driving unless a hands-free device is used.
I just discovered that my Android phone has a text to voice feature. That means I can hold the phone to my mouth and speak out a text all while keeping both eyes on the road. Most smartphones should have a similar feature.
Lund said… “what they might have been doing was moving their phones down and out of sight when they texted, in recognition that what they were doing was illegal.”
That’s the truth. The law–and fear of enforcement–increases the risk. Not sure what the solution is.
People are always going to crash no matter what the excuse is. We are human. Cars are getting safer and safer and that needs to continue because we will always crash.
Pedestrians and bicyclists…watch out!
Does the response back to you come in voice? If not, you have to pick it up and read it…or attempt to read it……ooops…didn’t see that lady crossing the street.
Interesting comments by all and I’m confident that no one can agree with the alleged findings of the study. Cell phone use of any type by the driver should be prohibited while the vehicle is in motion.