Title:
Drivers Can Turn to Technology to Save Them From the
Distractions of Technology
Description: This is
a VOA Special English General News Report.
See text below
Text:
Wayne Irving drove across the United States to tell
people about the dangers of sending text messages
while driving.
In 2008, nearly 6,000 Americans died in crashes
involving drivers who were busy doing something
other than driving. Wayne Irving is a developer of
computer software. He created a software program to
help people resist the urge to use their cell phones
while driving.
WAYNE IRVING: "It was specifically built for people
who desire to be responsible, who are looking for a
solution to help them not get a ticket, not get in
an accident, not risk their life."
Irving calls his software the SMS Replier. It lets
drivers get control of their smartphones while
driving. The phone sends a message informing callers
that the person is busy driving and cannot answer.
WAYNE IRVING: "Everything is going to the
smartphones. The smartphone is the new laptop. It's
the new notebook computer. They're making them
bigger. They're making them more feature-rich.
They're stronger, they're more powerful than
desktops were just three years ago."
Irving drove his recreational vehicle from
California to the National Distracted Driving Summit
in Washington, D.C. Along the way, more than ten
thousand people signed the vehicle to show support
for his cause.
The SMS Replier is only one of many programs that
have been created to reduce traffic accidents. For
example, the Ford Motor Company is putting one such
program in some of its car models to help young
drivers. Parents can use a message center on the car
to limit its speed. It can also sound warnings if
the driver fails to wear a seat belt. Brian Benne of
Ford says the system gives parents peace of mind.
BRIAN BENNIE: "We know that teenagers drive
distracted and they may not wear their seat belts
all the time. This encourages good, safe driving
behavior."
Parents do not have to buy a car with built-in
technology to control their children's driving. They
can add a device to their present car that
continuously watches how their children drive. A
recording will tell drivers when they speed, drive
aggressively or forget to wear their seat belt. The
device can inform parents if the driver continues to
demonstrate risky driving behavior.
State and local governments are also doing their
part to support safe driving. Texting while driving
is illegal in thirty states and Washington, D.C. And
some states have barred drivers from using handheld
cell phones. I'm Shirley Griffith.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
