Talking or texting while driving can lead to accidents worthy of a bona-fide OMG. (Via Discovery News)
Ask U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood about the dangers of distracted driving and prepare to take notes. The 2009 figures show that wayward actions behind the wheel contributed to more than 5,000 deaths and nearly 500,000 injuries. While several states have laws against hand-held cell-phone use while driving, some motorists still sneak their way past those mandates.
As technology continues to invent hand-held distractions, the federal government is considering a new path — severing the relationship between cars and cell phones altogether. Discovery News writes that the Department of Transportation is weighing options that will automatically disable wireless devices, based on the speed of the moving vehicle.
That numerical figure would be ascertained via a) how fast the car is going and b) recorded through a signal from a Bluetooth, cell phone tower or other service.