As texting while driving continues to be a problem on today’s roads MSNBC’s Tech Watch looked into a number of apps to combat the dangerous behavior. DriveSafe.ly once again appears as a top candidate! >> Full Story

 By eTrucker Staff

On March 26 Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law a bill that makes it a primary offense to be caught holding a cell phone to your ear while driving, or to be reading, writing or sending text messages.

The new law strengthens the state’s current law that makes texting or cell phone use a secondary offense if the driver was stopped for another infraction, such as speeding. Beginning on June 10, police can pull over a driver for texting or talking without a headset and give them a $124 ticket. Dialing a cell phone isn’t considered texting under the new law.

Exempt are transit and emergency vehicle personnel, as well as anyone who is text messaging or calling and not using a headset to report illegal activity or call emergency help. Also exempt are people who are using a hearing aid or operating a tow truck.

Washington becomes one of seven states and the District of Columbia in making texting and talking without a headset a primary offense, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Text messaging is banned for all drivers in 20 states and D.C., according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The International CTIA WIRELESS® show is the premier wireless event representing a $1 trillion global marketplace that brings together the wireless and converged communications, wireless broadband, mobile web computing and data industries. International CTIA WIRELESS is where the wireless world meets each year for three days of intense business, learning and networking.

For those three days you can find iSpeech and DriveSafe.ly at the Safe Driving Pavilion! Make sure you drop by our booth #5969 in the North Hall. Have a word with some of our iSpeech team members, schedule a demo or even an interview with the CEO. Throughout the day we’ll be giving out free Pro Codes and maybe even a few other goodies. Be sure to stop by so you don’t miss out.

We’ve talked about the TWD studies before and the truth is in the numbers. Texting while driving is dangerous and a very real threat. Reading those texts is just as dangerous, your eyes aren’t on the road.

“The brevity of these messages is what I think is important,” George Fleetwood of AT&T Indiana told WTHR-TV. “Just being distracted for a moment to read a two- or three-word text can bring about the end of your life or maim you severely.” Source

A number of companies are considering enforcing policies regarding cell phone use. The Pittsburgh Tribune looks further into the growing trend.

Cyndi Saxe Schmidt parks her cell phone while driving, but she can’t hang up on the idea of a mobile office.

“I do so much of my calling while I’m in the car,” said Schmidt, broker of record who oversees three Pittsburgh-area Keller Williams Realty offices. She uses hands-free technology that connects her phone to the car radio. “I hated to hold the phone while I’m driving. It’s just not safe.”

More companies are taking steps to curb their employees’ hand-held cell phone habits in the car, experts said.

“It’s getting to be a hot issue,” said Phyllis Hartman, founder and president of PGHR Consulting., a human resources firm in the North Hills. “Companies are becoming concerned about the safety of their employees and the liability issues.”

DriveSafe.ly was featured recently among a list of solutions to combat texting while driving. The full story below!

Seattle - News service, KING 5, reports on the fast approaching reality that texting while driving is not welcome and soon to be illegal. >> Full Story

Thanks to your support, we won the About.com’s Reader’s Choice Award for Best BlackBerry App!
Below is a word direct from About and a link to other category winners and runners up. We couldn’t have done it without you.

“This is another application I haven’t yet had a chance to try, but I look forward to testing it out. DriveSafe.ly is a free application that offers a safer way to use your BlackBerry smartphone while driving: It reads text messages and e-mails out loud to you, and lets you respond by voice, without ever touching the phone. DriveSafe.ly earned the 2010 About.com Reader’s Choice Award for Best BlackBerry app with 77 percent of the vote, easily besting all of its competition, which included AOL’s Instant Messenger, Vlingo, and more.” >> More