I-phone to Improve Road Safety

New I-Phone Tech to Improve Road Safety

It has been revealed that Apple has patented a system that would use a lock out mechanism that will stop motorists from texting or using other functions of their smartphones that will distract them whilst they are driving. Most recently, we have seen a social media craze surrounding people taking 'selfies' whilst driving, this form of mobile phone use is not only dangerous for the driver, but for passengers and everyone surrounding the vehicle.

This patent described how a a device would be able to determine if it was moving by looking at GPS data, phone towers or even camera images. These visual evidences would allow the device to calculate if the person holding it was driving the vehicle or was just a passenger, therefore putting limits in place if they were driving, though not if they weren't.

There would also be algorithms looking for a steering wheel that is in close proximity to the phones camera, or look for a number of faces, as only one visible person would mean that that user is the one that is driving. This could also differentiate between the inside of a car or a seat on a bus or train carriage, where of course safety features would not be necessary.

This application has even suggested that the accelerometer could be used to work out if a driver was being unscrupulous and was tilting their phone so that the steering wheel was not revealed and therefore the safety feature not put into place. Of course, speed of travel would also have to be sensed, which would make sure that the limits did not kick in if the user was walking and not driving.

Apple have said that this patent application, which was filed back in 2008 but was only published and granted last week, that drivers texting while in control of a car has become a major police concern and cites a 2006 study which found that 80% of crashes were caused by distractions such as texting, eating and applying make up.