The technology is the digital equivalent of the breathalyzer tests used on drunk drivers, proponents say, enabling cops to detect whether drivers were texting or swiping for Tinder dates while driving in the aftermath of a collision.
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This is why new legislation proposed in NY sets out to use a new device, called a “textalyser”, to help police determine whether the person driving was being unlawfully distracted. “This is a way to address people who are causing damage”, said Lieberman.
Enter the “textalyzer.” This piece of technology-which is still under development-would be to the distracted driver what the breathalyzer is to those who have had a few too many-a device used by police to determine whether there is cause to proceed with a criminal case.
It makes NY the first U.S. state to attempt a distracted driving policy solution that lets police examine phones at an accident site.
The change would be made possible through the use of a new system, dubbed the “textalizer” and developed by Israeli forensics and security firm Cellebrite.
NY passed a law in 2001 prohibiting the use of mobile phones while driving, and in 2009 the law was expanded to include all portable electronic devices.
Liebeman’s 19-year-old son Evan died in a 2011 collision caused by a distracted driver, prompting him to team up with state Sen. The bill claims that although NY law enforcement authorities have established “text stops” along all major highways where drivers can pull over to use their phones, vehicle crashes are up 14 percent this year and fatalities are up 8 percent, “suggesting that the problem has not only gotten worse, but it is still greatly misunderstood”. Lieberman’s father, Ben Lieberman, is co-founder of a lobbying group called Distracted Operators Risk Casualties (DORCs).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than eight people are killed and hundreds are injured every day in crashes that involve a distracted driver. The new device must respect the personal privacy of drivers, Lieberman stressed that they are taking “meticulous steps” to not violate the privacy rights. ‘It’s time to recognize that distracted driving is a similar impairment’.
“Cellebrite has been leading the adoption of field mobile forensics solutions by law enforcement for years, culminating in the formal introduction of our UFED FIELD series product line a year ago”, the company’s CEO, Jim Grady, said in a statement.
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‘The facts regarding distracted driving are startling, ‘ said Republican New York Senator Terrence Murphy, who is one of the proposal’s backers. But how can you be sure that distracted messaging is to blame?
