States Plan to Fight Distracted Driving with “Textalyzer” Technology
Distracted driving is one of the greatest threats to safety on the road today, and using a cell phone or texting while driving results in thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries in traffic accidents every year. While 14 states (including California) have banned the use of cell phones while driving, the number of accidents involving distracted driving continues to increase. In order to combat this trend, some states are looking to implement new solutions for enforcing distracted driving laws.
Possible New Technology for Detecting Distracted Driving
Some cities and states are looking into the possibility of using technological solutions to determine whether a driver was using their cell phone when an accident occurred. This type of “textalyzer” would be used by police officers to access a phone’s logs and see whether the phone was being used to make a call, send a text, or use an app prior to the accident.
The state of New York is currently considering a proposal that would create an implied consent for drivers to be tested by textalyzers when driving in the state. This would be similar to implied consent laws that currently exist in all states in which drivers implicitly agree to breathalyzer testing for blood alcohol content when they use the road.
Criticism of Textalyzers by Civil Liberties Groups
While safety advocates believe the use of textalyzers will discourage distracted driving and ensure that people are punished for violating the law, the ACLU opposes these programs due to the privacy issues involved. While Cellebrite, the company developing textalyzer technology, has stated that the device will only access a phone’s metadata and logs rather than any personal data, the ACLU believes this may still violate the Constitution’s protections against unreasonable searches.
The ACLU also raised a number of other issues with the use of textalyzers, including that they likely would not be able to distinguish between whether a phone was being used illegally or not or whether a phone was being used by a passenger rather than the driver.
Legal Assistance in Distracted Driving Accidents
Distracted driving is a major safety issue that affects everyone on the road. If you have been involved in an accident that you believe was caused by another driver’s use of a cell phone while driving, the experienced attorneys at Janoff Law can investigate your case and help you seek the compensation you deserve for the damages you have suffered. Contact a San Jose distracted driving accident lawyer at 408-286-2300 to schedule a free consultation.
Sources:
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/04/27/525729013/textalyzer-aims-to-curb-distracted-driving-but-what-about-privacy
https://www.aclu.org/blog/anti-distracted-driving-textalyzer-technology-not-simple-it-seems
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Car-Driving-Text-Texting-Phone-Cellphone-Traffic-Safety-440818093.html
