This is an idea that many people will embrace.
With a growing body of evidence showing that texting and driving are more dangerous than drunk driving, almost everyone agrees that this is a big problem that needs to be stopped. Sure, 18 states have made it illegal to text while driving, but the truth is that many people, especially teenagers, continue to type while driving. So why not take the next step and provide cars with a device that blocks cell phone signals for the person in the driver's seat?
I know that some of you are reading this and saying, "No way! I can stop texting and talking while I'm driving, and I don't want anyone to stop my phone." Like everyone else, I hate losing my ability to communicate, but the idea isn't crazy. A company in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, uses Trinity Noblehas Guardian Angels in its jamming equipment. Guardian angels interfere with the cell phone signals of people sitting in the driver's seat of a car going more than 10 miles per hour. Which means the driver can't get a signal on his cell phone. "We applied for the patent in 2001, and the patent was actually granted in late 2006 by the same government that said the technology was illegal," said Joe Brennan and Trinity Noble.
On the one hand, the federal government wants drivers to stop using, checking and typing on their handheld devices or cell phones. On the other hand, the government is against simple solutions to ensure that people stay away from their phones while driving. At the heart of the opposition to signal jammers is the fear of depriving drivers of the freedom to talk on the phone or contact others while driving. In fact, if you hand over your phone in the car, you still have that freedom. And because putting the Guardian Angel or other cell phone jammer devices in the car is voluntary, those who still want to use their phones won't be affected.
The real question here is whether the federal government will take a different approach to the growing problem. You can pass all the state laws you want and run all the shock-value ads you want, but a lot of people will still text. I know they will, because I've had so many friends tell me, "I know it's illegal to text and drive, but I still do it."
So why not let parents or others who can't control themselves place jamming devices in their cars? We put ignition switches in our cars and breathalyzers in the cars of people convicted of driving while intoxicated, and no one complains that we violate the rights of these drivers? If texting is just as dangerous as driving and drunk driving, why not take a similar approach to signal jamming devices?
