Startup's tech warns chatty drivers of upcoming stoplights
By Evan Blass 
posted Apr 19th 2006 4:35PM
posted Apr 19th 2006 4:35PM
Necessity is definitely the mother of invention, so after getting hit twice in one year by drivers gabbing on their
cellphones (only once as a pedestrian, thankfully), an understandably-peeved Demetrius Thompson decided to develop a
system for warning chatters that they're about to approach an intersection. Since it's pretty clear that in-car
cellphone use will never be completely banned, and
that the "hands-free only" laws really don't address the underlying problem, the next best step would seem to
be improving the attentiveness of those who insist on talking behind the wheel. Thompson's system would use
already-available location data from GPS-enabled cellphones combined with information on the coordinates of local
traffic lights to audibly alert the driver with a cuckoo clock-like chirp when they need to perk up and pay (more)
attention to the road. While this is certainly an innovative and cost-effective method for circumventing legislative
routes to tackle what is likely a widespread problem, the fact that Thompson's company, Global Mobile Alert, has yet to
get any carriers interested in the system means that it will likely remain just a concept for the foreseeable future.
thats pretty ridiculous... seriously.. are all u people that busy on the fones ALL the time? jeez.. ur prolly only driving for 15-20 min at a time for the most part... jus dont answer ur fones... and especially pay attention if u have people walking around...
there are alot of drivers out there that shouldnt even own a car... how dare u think that u could do BOTH AT THE SAME TIME... get ur driving skills up THEN multitask IF U HAVE TO..