Car key can jam teen phone calls, text

By: Drivers.com staff
Date: Thursday, 28. January 2010

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At any given time, says Xuesong Zhou, about 6% of drivers are talking on a cell-phone while driving, and about 10% of teenagers are talking or texting while driving.

Zhou, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering with the University of Utah, is co-inventor, along with graduate Wally Curry, of a device that establishes a Bluetooth (or RFID) connection between car keys and mobile phones. The system is capable of disabling the phone while the car is being driven.

How it works

The system is called Key2SafeDriving. It includes a device that encloses the car key. To turn on the engine the driver must slide the key out (or push a button to release it), at which point the device sends a signal to the driver’s phone which disables it. The phone then displays a “Stop” sign on its screen. When the driver takes the key out and replaces it in the device the phone returns to its normal communications mode.

However, there are some exceptions to the ‘block calls’ rule. For example, calls to 911, parents phones, or other numbers can be exempted. For adults, the Key2SafeDriving system can be set to allow hands free calls.

A video and additional information about Key2SafeDriving are available at:

Key2SafeDriving.net

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