New Phone App Stops You From Texting And Driving

There are a number of apps available that help you or prevent you from doing something. This one is a good idea and seems to do what it says it will. Stop you from texting while you drive. Hopefully you have pledged not to text and drive, don't trust yourself? Then this is for you.

Cellcontrol makes the app called DriveID, it's a module that plugs into the vehicle’s OBD II diagnostic port to capture driving data. It blocks the phone from being used while the car is in motion. DriveID takes the technology a step further by replacing the OBD II module with a windshield-mounted sensor that can tell whether the phone is on the right or left side of the car, allowing or blocking phone use accordingly. There have been others but they wouldn't let you use the phone if the car was working, which was a hassle because you could sit in a parking lot and not use your phone. Emergency calls to 911 are allowed at any time.

Consumer Reports had a chance to take a brief demo drive with DriveID and found it worked as advertised. It activated as soon as the car was in motion, with the phone display indicating DriveID was on the job. A buffer zone in the middle of the car effectively prohibits the driver from cheating by holding a phone in an outstretched hand. One quirk we noticed is that a rear-seat passenger sitting behind the driver is also blocked from using the phone.

This app could be used by parents to stop kids from texting when they borrow the car.

DriveID is compatible with Android, Blackberry, iOS, and Windows platforms. For personal (aka "family") use, there is an $89 one-time cost.