A new tool is being developed to crack down on texting and driving!

New Law Seeks to Crack Down on Distracted New York Drivers
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We all know that if assumed to be under the influence of alcohol during a traffic stop, police will more often than not ask the driver to take a breathalyzer test. But what happens, let’s say, if you get into a car accident because you or the driver in the other car were distracted by your mobile device? How will the police know that your cell phone use was the cause of the accident unless you say so? It looks as though police may not have to take your word for it in the future.

Governor Cuomo’s traffic safety committee is apparently testing out a new technological tool called the “Textalyzer.” Although similar to the breathalyzer, the textalyzer will be able to detect if a person was texting while driving. Depending on the situation, the police can either find your phone (car crash) or ask you for the phone (traffic stop). The police officer will then “plug a cord in to your phone and attach it to their tablet using the appropriate software” (News 10).

New Law Seeks to Crack Down on Distracted New York Drivers
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Despite some major privacy concerns, the textalyzer will not permit officers to invade your personal messages, texts, etc. but will only give them the exact time that you last activated an application on your cellular device. This could be anything from texting, web browsing, social media, e-mails, etc.

Supporters of the tool say that this would be a step in the right direction to cut down on texting and driving. If this tool becomes approved, drivers could potentially lose their license for refusing to turn their phones over to police.

There is still much time before the textalyzer will come into effect. I personally am not a fan of this potential tool. Although it may diminish the amount of texting and driving being done on a daily basis, this does raise concerns about invasion of privacy, and losing your license for refusing to hand over your phone to the police is outrageous. Let me know what you think!

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