Texting and driving has become the new drinking and driving. Just about everyone knows how dangerous it is to get behind the wheel when you are over the legal limit, but more and more people are starting to text while driving, which is just as, if not more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. According to recent reports, distracted driving is on the rise, despite media campaigns and new laws designed to mitigate the danger.
Because of the increase of distracted driving, lawmakers and activists have been looking for a drastic new measure to encourage a change in behavior. In Florida, this change has come in the form of the textalyzer. In an attempt to treat texting and driving like drinking and driving, lawmakers have started by reaching out to social media and tech companies to look for ways to discourage distracted driving. This mirrors the push for beer and liquor manufacturers to actively discourage drinking and driving.
The biggest change, however, will be an addition of a device that functions essentially like a breathalyzer, but for mobile devices. Called the textalyzer, it would be used by a police offer upon arriving at the scene of an accident, to analyze a phone to see if it was being used recently. This technology will likely be used to determine whether or not the driver was accessing their email, placing a call, or sending a text message at the time of the crash. If the individual refuses to hand over their phone, they could face a license suspension, in the same way that people who refuse a breathalyzer test will see their license suspended.
There are, of course, some hurdles when it comes to actually getting this law on the books. There are privacy concerns, though the device would not actually give an officer access to a phone, it would simply tell the officer what the phone’s recent activity looks like.
A law like this does have the potential to change individual’s behaviors. People are going to be afraid to have their phone in their hand while driving. Even if they are not at fault during the accident, officers will have a very easy way to see who was breaking Florida’s “no hands” law. Right now, drivers are not taking distracted driving as seriously as they take drunk driving, despite the fact that they are both dangerous. Distracted driving is still considered to be socially acceptable, while drunk driving (though it still happens) is less so.
Lawmakers and activists know that they are losing when it comes to fighting distracted driving, no matter how hard they have tried to curb this behavior. It is time for a solution that makes it easy for police officers to identify the cause of accidents and to punish the right people for those accidents. Right now, officers have few tools for determining who involved in the crash might have been using a device at the time, especially if the drivers refuse to surrender their mobile devices.
Along with the introduction of the textalyzer, campaigns are being waged to encourage drivers to be more attentive. Those pushing the agenda are talking to phone companies and conglomerates like Nascar, who might be willing to become partners in the fight against distracted driving. And while incentives are a good way to prevent distracted driving, the textalyzer is a good option for punishing those who take part in it.
