Submitted by Guest345396 (not verified) on Wed, 09/19/2012 - 6:37pm.
If the cellular companies wanted to fix this as they claim they do, it would be a piece of cake - literally!
EVERY cell phone currently on any carrier's network has an embedded GPS. Without getting horribly technical, the embedded GPS does not have alot of capabilities, and definitely isn't really all that fast to determine exact location, but they ALL can tell when they are in motion. Maybe not the exact speed, but it is possible to determine that the phone is moving at the speeds that a vehicle moves at vs. someone walking.
In addition, all phones on all networks can have their firmware (program that the phone runs) updated, and most phones can have their firmware updated over the air.
Here's the fix. Have the carriers request the phone manufacturers make a change to the firmware that adds an option to disable text options while the phone is in significant motion. Maybe still alert that a text has been received, but not display from who or what the subject is - if you want to know, you'll have to stop to see. Yes, it will mess with the ability to text while someone else is driving, but that's a pretty small price to pay.
This issue can be EASILY fixed
If the cellular companies wanted to fix this as they claim they do, it would be a piece of cake - literally!
EVERY cell phone currently on any carrier's network has an embedded GPS. Without getting horribly technical, the embedded GPS does not have alot of capabilities, and definitely isn't really all that fast to determine exact location, but they ALL can tell when they are in motion. Maybe not the exact speed, but it is possible to determine that the phone is moving at the speeds that a vehicle moves at vs. someone walking.
In addition, all phones on all networks can have their firmware (program that the phone runs) updated, and most phones can have their firmware updated over the air.
Here's the fix. Have the carriers request the phone manufacturers make a change to the firmware that adds an option to disable text options while the phone is in significant motion. Maybe still alert that a text has been received, but not display from who or what the subject is - if you want to know, you'll have to stop to see. Yes, it will mess with the ability to text while someone else is driving, but that's a pretty small price to pay.