inthinc Technology Solutions Inc has reinforced its commitment to preventing distracted driving by implementing cell phone and texting restrictions in both its commercial and consumer driving safety systems. The firm announced new partnerships with industry leaders in cell and text detection at the Department of Transportation’s second annual Distracted Driving Summit in Washington DC recently.
inthinc is incorporating technology to enable customers’ cell phones to automatically go into a “safe mode,” which restricts calls, texting, or other applications while the vehicle is in motion. The technology integrates with the company’s customer portals where fleet managers and parents can monitor cell phone usage while a vehicle is in operation along with other driving behaviors such as speeding, aggressive driving, and seatbelt usage. inthinc has selected CellControl and ZoomSafer as its technology partners.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), almost 20% of all crashes in 2008 involved some type of distraction. Additional research from Virginia Tech shows that dialing a cell phone while driving increases the risk of a crash about six times and that drivers are 23 times more likely to crash if texting while driving. inthinc is extending the capabilities of its driving safety systems to eliminate these risky activities while behind the wheel.
The distracted-driving features are expected to be available as part of inthinc’s systems for commercial fleets and for teens in Q4 2010. For more information, visit www.inthinc.com.
