Woman texting while driving crashes, ends up in a lake

By Mike Flacy September 12, 2013

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Detailed by ABC affiliate WJLA, a 25-year-old Maryland woman was immersed in text messages on her smartphone when she crashed into a tree on Tuesday afternoon. Bouncing off the tree and sliding approximately 60 feet, her Hyundai was sent flying into a nearby lake and started to fill with water. However, the driver managed to stop texting, climb out the driver’s side door and safely escape the sinking vehicle. When emergency workers arrived, she had no visible signs of injury, but was transported to a nearby hospital.

When questioned by officers about the accident, she told police that she was in the middle of texting when the vehicle veered off the road. The crash is currently under investigation by the local police department and charges are pending.

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According to a study conducted by a research team at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, texting while driving increases the risk of a crash by 23 times when compared to driving while not distracted. Also, America recently came in at the top of a list of countries that are most likely to have drivers that use cell phones while behind the wheel.

Of course, this isn’t the first time someone has gotten into a driving or walking accident when obsessed with texting. Last year, a 21-year-old man drove off a bridge while sending the text “I need to quit texting because I could die in a car accident and then how would you feel…” Earlier this year, a woman in England was filmed walking into a canal while typing out a text message on her phone.

Interestingly, a New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that a person can be held liable for sending a text to a driver, assuming that driver gets into an accident and the person that sent the text knew the receiver of the text was behind the wheel.

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AI could help stop people from dangerously texting and driving

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Texting while driving is an incredibly irresponsible, potentially dangerous thing to engage in. However, despite any number of laws, police initiatives and public service announcements, too many still do it. That is a problem that engineering researchers from Canada’s University of Waterloo think they have come up with a solution to -- with the development of a system which uses a combination of cameras and artificial intelligence to determine when drivers are texting, or otherwise engaged in distracting activities.

“Distracted driving is one of the major causes of car crashes around the world and North America in particular,” Fakhri Karray, an electrical and computer engineering professor at Waterloo, told Digital Trends. “In this work, an artificial intelligence-based system is investigated for driver distraction detection. A full prototype [with both] software and hardware has been designed, implemented and tested, based on the latest tools of deep learning AI and computer vision. The work is motivated by its performance in designing next generation self-driving cars, and by alerting in real time a driver of the imminent danger of his or her action when undergoing text messaging, drinking, reaching objects at the back or side seats, calling on the phone, or operating a radio, [air conditioning unit], or other devices on the dashboard.”

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Shocking ad shows how texting and driving really don't mix

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Distracted driving leads to car crashes on roads around the world every single day. Research data shows that in the U.S. alone, nearly 10 people a day die because of it, while a further 1,000 suffer injuries due to the same behavior.

In many cases, those distractions are caused by drivers’ inability to resist the lure of their mobile phone. A quick glance at the display while motoring along means taking your eyes off the road, and in those brief moments anything can happen. Indeed, using the phone behind the wheel is now the third most common cause of fatal accidents on American roads after alcohol and speed.
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So how can the authorities persuade drivers that it’s really not worth risking your life to check your messages or social media feeds at any speed, whether 15 mph or 85?

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Hands off — Rive wants to make it impossible for you to text and drive

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The best way to ensure you won't text and drive? Make it impossible to do so.

That's the logic behind new Kickstarter project Rive, a combination of hardware and software that promises to "eliminate the ability to text and drive while keeping you connected to what matters." The goal of the product is to take away both the temptation and the ability to use a mobile device while you're on the road, all the while keeping your phone on your dashboard. Because ultimately, wouldn't you rather your device be where you can see it instead of hidden away in your pocket or purse where you might be tempted to fish it out at its first ring?