David Pogue for The New York Times:
The statistics on distracted driving are pretty scary. Just making cellphone calls increases your chances of crashing by four times; sending text messages increases the risk 23 times.
We know this, we get this, but we keep doing it. About half of all teenagers admit to texting while driving, for example, no matter how many statistics and horror stories we pass along to them.
and
In any case, it might be worth considering a text-blocking app for your teenager — or even for yourself, if only to make your phone so inconvenient while driving that you won’t bother with it. Because the world already has enough horrifying driving-distraction statistics; you should avoid becoming one yourself.
This is a great idea, it will be interesting to see how the debate of “driving while on the phone” progresses over the next couple of years. States have already started to enforce hands free laws, so it will be intriguing to see if the Feds step in to enact some laws.
I would suspect that if the Feds to enact some laws it would revolve around the punishment for accidents that occur while on the phone. As in if you were yapping away and killed a pedestrian it is some serious jail time.