Kentucky Accident Blog

New Device Could Ban Cell Phone Use by Teens Drivers- Kentucky Accident Attorney

One of the largest contested issues going today is the use of cell phones while driving.  In January the National Safety Council launched a major awareness campaign around the issue.  Some feel that it should not be allowed, other feel that only hand held devices should be banned, others feel that there should be no text messaging.  On the other hand there are those who feel that there are other actions that drivers take that are as distracting if not more, eating, adjusting or even just conversations with another passenger in the vehicle.

A deliveryman for UPS had become so frustrated with drivers talking on the phone that he is developing what he hopes to be a solution that will save lives.  Fred Wenz teamed up with a friend, John Fischer,  and together they developed a security device that would block the incoming and outgoing radio signal to and from cell phones for a 5-foot radius around the drivers seat. It's modeled after ignition locks that can't be activated until a convicted drunken driver passes a blood alcohol check by blowing into a monitor on the dashboard.

Wenz and Fischer have applied for a provisional patent on the device.  The device is called an “Owner Compliance Key” and the two are actively looking for funding for the device.

Nationally, more than 2,600 people die and another 12,000 are seriously injured due to the phenomenon, according an estimate prepared by the Harvard Center of Risk Analysis and reported by the safety council. There are other studies indicate that a driver talking on a cell, even on a hands-free device such as a Bluetooth headset, is four times more likely to get into a crash - and those rates raise exponentially when texting.

According to Louisville, Kentucky personal injury attorney when you have gotten behind the wheel of a car you are taking on a huge responsibility.  If you are doing something while driving that distracts you then you need to either stop that action or stop driving until that distraction has passed.  This is one easy way to help prevent accidents and possibly fatalities.