It's becoming clear that you would rather text than talk these days, but when you're on the road? That's a no-no. Instead of risking your life (and the lives of other motorists), try one of these texting apps that were made to help you kick the texting-while-driving habit to the curb. There's one for everyone — iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android owners unite!
Though texting and chatting on the phone while driving is illegal (not to mention super dangerous), most people still multitask behind the wheel. A recent report shows that in the US, up to 25 percent of car crashes are caused by distracted drivers that use gadgets while driving.
There are plenty of texting apps available for download that will help you stay away from your smartphone while on the road, but with these kinds of stats it seems that most drivers would just rather ignore the law altogether.
Be honest — are you still using your gadgets while you drive?
There are plenty of apps to prevent distracted driving and location-based reward programs to choose from, but now a newly released application called SafeCell combines the two and actually rewards you for safe driving in the form of credit at more than 500 participating retailers.
SafeCell is available for both iPhone and Android and costs $12 annually, which seems like a lot until you consider the cost of a $100-plus ticket for violating cell phone laws — or worse, if distracted driving causes an accident. SafeCell uses your phone's GPS function to alert you of applicable cell phone laws, which vary by state, and also notifies you when you're entering a school zone.
Get the details on how you can cash in on the SafeCell rewards program after the break.
Texting while driving is banned in 30 states, but have you ever snuck in an SMS while you were behind the wheel? The answer for most of us is no, but people are in fact still texting on the sly, and it's leading to more fatalities and accidents than before the ban, according to a new study.
When people try to hide their texting from the police they tend to lower their phones to their laps, the study says, which means no eyes on the road for longer periods of time. That translates to an increased chance of crashing; the accident rates in three of the states they studied rose after the law was in place. Last year, there were almost 450,000 accidents and 5,474 deaths due to distracted driving.
The government, however, is not giving up; US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he is confident that the texting ban will work in the future, once it is enforced "effectively." So instead of trying to outsmart the cops, keep your cell phone tucked safely away and try my top five texting-while-driving alternatives.
Source: Flickr User mrJasonWeaver
