Technology Profile |
Automatic detection
of mobile phone use
| Need to know
Experts attribute the
deterioration in road
safety standards in the
USA to smartphone use
060 Traffic Technology International July/August 2019
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
Some governments have
already tried to fight back and
failed. Almost every US state
has passed laws limiting or
banning the use of cell phones
while driving. But these laws
were put in place years ago;
clearly enforcement and
deterrence are lacking. It is often
very easy to hide cell phone use
from the police; many of us have
witnessed other drivers hold
their phone below the window
level of their vehicle while
talking or texting, only to toss
it aside when an officer
approaches. For authorities, it
can be difficult to catch drivers
in the act.
The past decade has seen a
dramatic rise in the number
of car crashes. In the United
States alone, there were nearly
two million more accidents last
year than there were in 2011.
What is fueling this horrific
change? One major cause is the
cellular phone. According to
some estimates, over a quarter
of all car crashes now involve
a driver who is too busy texting
to look at the road. Add to these
the drivers who are busy
placing calls, reading social
media alerts, or entering a GPS
destination, and it’s clear that
cellphone use is responsible for
a massive number of car
accidents – and a massive
number of fatalities.
This trend is so strong that it
has overwhelmed and overcome
recent improvements in vehicle
safety. From 2007 to 2016, the
fatality rate per crash dropped
steadily from one in 146 to one
> In 2011 the number of
crashes in the USA was
below 5.5 million
> In 2016 there were nearly
7.5 million crashes
reported in the USA
> Road fatalities were kept
below 33,000 per year in
the USA between 2009
and 2014
> Since 2014 there has been
a sharp rise in road
fatalities in the USA. In
2016 there were over
37,000 deaths
in 194, but the total fatality rate
bottomed out and began to rise
again. The number of accidents
is increasing so quickly that
vehicle safety features simply
cannot keep up.
Good tech vs bad tech
There is a current tug of war
between the airbag – a type of
technology that saves lives –
and another – the cellphone –
which, however unintentionally,
takes lives.
Above: Roadmetric’s
Enforcement Deputy
software can detect
cell phone use even
when the device is
not fully visible in the
video frame
/www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com