In my previous post on this subject, I discussed how Scott Tibbitts, a chemical and space engineer who previously designed motors and technology for NASA, formed a company named Katasi to find a way to tackle the problem of preventing people from texting while driving. Mr. Tibbitts devoted his time and energies to this task, following the death of a colleague who was killed by a driver who was texting while driving. This is a dangerous behavioral problem that has vexed public safety professionals for several years now.
Tibbitts and his team did it! Their answer is Groove: A small device that plugs into a port that’s located just under any steering wheel (these ports are located in most car models made after 1996): Once plugged in, the device connects the car to the Internet. Each driver of the vehicle must first be registered with Groove. Once that drive plugs his device into the port under the steering wheel, within seconds of the car moving, Groove determined who that particular driver is and immediately notifies that person’s smart phone carrier (AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, etc.,) allowing the carrier to block all incoming distractions (such as texts) before they reach the phone. No worries about the texts being lost: After the ignition is turned off, Groove again notifies the carrier, and all messages and texts that were blocked while the car was on and moving, come rolling right in, so no messages are missed.
Obviously, the key link in making Groove work effectively and seamlessly is the cell phone carriers: Katasi is now working actively with two major U.S. carriers to deploy Groove in 2015, Tibbitts knows this is not enough. “Our goal is to have every carrier on board with Groove, providing the capability to limit distractions before they get to the phone when a subscriber is driving” he said.
Dave Sueper’s widow, Diane Misgen, told Couric that she was both honored and hopeful that Groove will make a huge difference, and prevent needless tragedies of the kind that took her husband from her. Speaking to Couric, she said “It was so reassuring to me that this was going to save so many lives. And I think for my kids, it’s also heartwarming to know that someone else who had nothing to do with our family took on that challenge in honor of their dad.”
As a Boston Massachusetts distracted driving lawyer, my message in today’s post is to ALL of the wireless cell phone carriers in the United States: Get on board and be part of this incredible SOLUTION to this deathly epidemic. Stop dragging your feet in the name of expenses and corporate profits. Get off your butts and work with Katasi to make this a universal reality across this country, now.