Applications that prevent people from using their mobile phones while a vehicle is moving also are gaining popularity with corporate fleet managers. And, a  new federal regulation that took effect January 1st  penalizes commercial truck and bus drivers up to $2,750 each time they’re caught reaching for or dialing a phone while driving.

Here is a list of  the kind of  available technology:

 •Software that uses on-phone GPS or in-vehicle Bluetooth systems to determine when the vehicle is moving.  The mobile device is disabled by the software when the vehicle is moving.  On example is iZup, which costs only $20 per year to block a cellphone when driving.  It saves voice calls to voice mail and holds text messages and other data interactions while a vehicle is moving.

•Devices that connect with the vehicle’s on-board diagnostics port or integrate into vehicle electronics or infotainment platform, shutting off gadgets while the vehicle is moving. They include Cellcontrol, Key2SafeDriving and Taser International’s Protector.

 •Detection, jamming, monitoring and sensors. They include Trinity-Noble’s Guardian Angel, which locks the keys of a cellphone when a vehicle is going over a pre-set speed.

Any parent who thinks that any of the above technology will be an easy panacea is naive.  The technology currently does not distinguish between drivers and passengers.  This means that parents have to be willing to ban cell phone use by their teens even when the teen is a passenger in the parents’ vehicles.  OMG, you might have to put down your own cell phone and talk to your kids.

We’ve all seen these drivers.   They are oblivious to their surroundings.  They may be driving in the passing lane going 20 miles below the speed limit and have no clue that there is a line of cars behind them.  Whenever I pass such a vehicle, the driver is either talking on the mobile phone or texting.  It’s maddening.

Thirty five states ban texting while driving, yet one in every 100 drivers on the road is texting, emailing, searching the internet, or talking on the phone.  So, what is the solution?  First, parents need to stop setting a bad example for their kids.  Kids who’ve watched mom and/or dad text or check emails while driving are going to do the same when they drive.  They’ve learned from their own parents that this is an acceptable behavior.  Young drivers already over estimate their abilities.  They don’t need to be taking their eyes off the road to read a text or email.  Parents need to get tough about this.  Take away the cell phone or the car the first time your did breaks your rules about using the phone while driving.  Get an app that disables your child’s cell phone when the vehicle is traveling above a certain speed limit.  These are just a couple of options.  Neither will make you popular with your child.  But, would you rather be unpopular or mourning the loss of your child?

“We are being asked by our customers what to do on this sort of thing, especially since October … when President Obama issued the federal order banning federal employees from texting while operating government-owned vehicles,” says Stacy Chisum, Manage Mobility’s vice president of sales.

 Thirty states and the District of Columbia have banned the practice, but the laws are difficult to enforce. The national movement to discourage it — aimed mostly at young drivers — is spreading to corporate employees and the U.S. government.  Unfortunately, laws banning texting while driving may simply result in drivers holding their phones at lap level while texting so that the phone is not visible to police, thus creating an even more dangerous situation.

 Several applications disable cellphones when a vehicle is moving, preventing texting or surfing the Web. These apps, including iZup, tXtBlocker, ZoomSafer and CellSafety, use a phone’s GPS to determine when a vehicle is moving, and block the ability to text when the car is going faster than 5 or 10 mph. Some apps have opt-out features for passengers. The apps do not work on the iPhone.

This technology should be on every parents’ wish list.

 Federal authorities estimate that distracted driving caused 5,474 deaths in 2009, 995 of which were from using cell phones.  The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has performed extensive research that lead to the conclusion by NHTSA that there are three types of driver distractions: visual, manual and cognitive.  That is, even when a motorist is looking straight ahead, the cognitive demand of a phone conversation may cause “inattention blindness,” or a failure to respond to visual cues because the mind is somewhere else.

The evidence includes a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that found that drivers are four times more likely to be in an automobile crash when they are talking on the phone, whether using a hand-held or hands-free device.  Researchers at the University of Utah found that cellphone conversations slow driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol level at the legal limit of .08 percent.  Moreover, in some fatal cellphone crashes, there is anecdotal evidence that drivers were simply talking — not dialing or groping for their phones.

Auto makers are reacting to this dangerous phenomenon in a contadictory way.  On the one hand,  Ford Motor Co. is sponsoring clinics at  high schools to urge teens to heed traffic laws and avoid distractions behind the wheel.  As part of its “Driving Skills for Life” program, Ford also recently awarded $25,000 to students who created the best music video about the hazards of distracted driving.  Likewise, BMW  launched ‘Don’t Text and Drive,’ a series of TV ads to dramatize the risks of distracted driving.  And the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry trade group, is teaming with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in a similar campaign. 

 That’s all good.  The problem is that at the same time these companies are telling drivers to pay attention to the road, they are trying to increase sales by appealing to the young consumers’ appetite for cutting-edge infotainment systems that encourage distracted driving.  

Ford’s SYNC system, for example, enables drivers to use voice commands and touch screens to make and receive calls, listen to their text messages, and choose from a menu of replies. BMW’s ConnectedDrive provides calling, e-mail and text read-backs, and displays headlines of the messages on a screen.

General Motors advertised its infotainment technology with a Super Bowl ad of a young Chevy Cruze owner whose face lights up as he drives away and plays back the Facebook message: “Best first date ever…’’

Auto executives are counting heavily on edgy, high-tech features to boost sales, especially to younger buyers. David Mondragon, president of Ford Canada, put it bluntly: “The biggest turnoff to a twentysomething consumer is to put their life on hold when they sit in a car,” he said in a speech to the Canadian Marketing Assn.  “And what does it mean to put their life on hold? To get disconnected when they get in the car, to have a system that will not allow you to sit there and e-mail, read your BlackBerry, talk on the phone. So you have to have a seamless transition from your home to your transportation device, to your workspace. Or to your play space.” 

 This marketing position flies in the face of Ford’s stated policy of urging young drivers to avoid distractions behind the wheel.  Are the auto makers simply paying lip service to distracted driving in order to guard against tough criticism of their built-in infotainment systems?  In the time it takes to look down at a text message, a child could run out into the road in front of your vehicle.  Parents should lead by example and never use their cell phone in the car, particularly in front of their children.  This may seem harsh at first, but children parrot what their parents do, so changing the habits of older drivers may be the most important step to creating safer young drivers.

According to Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, ”The data we are getting from theater demonstrates how important it is to get to the root of the problem early in order to attack it.”  Under the rule, troops caught within about 165 feet of a blast must be pulled from combat for 24 hours and examined for signs of concussion. The data on the results of that policy are from August 2010 — when the treatment plan for concussions was initiated — through June.

Alarmingly, of the 9,000 service men and women who were pulled from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan and examined, nearly 1,400 were found to have mild traumatic brain injury.  These are folks who had no obvious wounds.

Kudos to the military for implementing this policy.  Research showing that a second concussion could be exponentially more dangerous and could cause permanent brain damage helped pave the way for this policy.  Prior to the policy, the servicemembers would likely have stayed in the fight because it was common practice to try to shake off the effects of a blast and keep fighting, said physician Michael Kilpatrick, a Pentagon health official.

Injured troops were often moved to special concussion treatment centers, Grimes said where they were monitored and treated until doctors concluded that their brain injuries had healed, a period that usually lasted about a week. Those with persistent problems were sent home.  That’s the other important aspect of the military’s new policy.  They recognize that while most people recover from a mild brain injury in a short period of time, some do not and suffer from persistent, long-term problems.  The troops in the later category need to be sent home for rehabilitative care.  “There’s just a greater awareness nationally that this is a much more serious thing than we’ve taken it for in the past,” Kilpatrick said, “that it’s not just a badge of courage to get knocked out, get up and keep going, but get the care you need at the time and then go forward.”

The reason for this phenomenon, according to medical malpractice lawyers, is that the high costs of prosecuting a malpractice claim is a barrier to bringing most claims.  Unless the patient has catastrophic injuries, many top malpractice lawyers will not take the case.  There are significant up front costs for hiring expert witnesses and preparing the case.  Doctors, hospitals, and their insurers have significant money and legal firepower, and are often further protected by state law caps on malpractice awards.  In Virginia, for example, one must have experts certify the case before it can be filed, and the damages are capped.  Thus, usually only very strong cases are pursued.  Yet, according to this study, payouts are rare.

Co-author of the study, Amitabh Chandra, an economist  and professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Goverment, told the AP that, “A lawyer would have to be an idiot to take a frivolous case to court.”  Notwithstanding the authors’ interpretation of their own study, the tort reform crowd will continue to put their own spin on this study and claim that there are too many frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits that, as George Bush said, prevent physicians from practicing their love on patients.  Why let facts get in the way of propaganda?

Available at the iTunes AppStore for $2.99, It’s Done! has received strong reviews from users with memory problems. One user wrote: “I cannot tell you how long I have been looking for an application just like this one. I have seen it in my mind many times and now it’s a reality.…” Another wrote: “Very cool. It is great for daily use, especially remembering those small details.”

With the It’s Done! app, users simply check-mark as “Done” their routine everyday tasks (lock the door, turn off the stove, etc.). Later, when the uneasy thought occurs, “Did I remember to…?”, It’s Done! confirms whether the task is done. No need to re-check, second-guess, or worry.

One potentially life-saving feature of the It’s Done! app is its ability to automatically generate a text message or email to notify others when a task is done. So within seconds of taking a daily medication and check-marking It’s Done!, a loved one or caregiver can immediately receive a text message or email confirmation. Welcome assurance to others that eliminates their need to call or worry.  As a parent of a young brain injured adult who lives outside of our home, I cannot wait to use this app.

It’s Done! has an intuitive interface that actually aids the memory process. When a task check-box is tapped, a bright green check-mark appears with a “click”sound and phone vibration. These visual, audible, and tactile cues reinforce confirmation of each completed task. A timestamp is automatically added to confirm when a task is done and completed tasks are stored in the app’s history.  This may be a good tool for healthy teenaged boys, but that’s a topic for another blog.

Here’s the really cool feature from my perspective.  If a user does forget to turn off the stove, It’s Done! reacts to the empty check-box next to the task and causes necessary action be taken to avert potential disaster.

As an additional memory aid, It’s Done! has a task reminder alert that’s helpful for prescribed medication times, pet feedings, important phone calls, and other time-specific tasks. The task reminder automatically opens the app to allow users to check-mark the task done.

The It’s Done! app website http://www.itsdoneapp.com has helpful User Guide videos, FAQ, Reviews, and Customer Support.

Based on the Zackery Lystedt Law named for the Washington teen who suffered a brain injury in 2006 after his return to a football game, the new measure encourages education as the main source of prevention. Illinois will become the 28th state to adopt a version of the law mandating all school boards adopt a policy on head injuries that fits under IHSA by-laws.

Quinn hopes increased awareness at the grassroots level affects Illinois the way it did the NFL.  Teams reported 25 percent more concussions last year, according to Hunt Batjer, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and co-chairman of the league’s head, neck and spine committee.

“It’s very important that we understand that concussions aren’t just treated by spitting a little tobacco juice on it and going on,” Quinn said.

An avid Chicago sports fan, Quinn realizes the machismo rules of sports he seeks to legislate traditionally celebrate those who quietly play through adversity.

But Quinn can’t get past the example of Dave Duerson, the former Bear who shot himself to death and left his damaged brain to science. He sees the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the vacant looks of soldiers every visit to a military hospital. He knows sports are the second-leading cause of brain injury among young adults between 15 and 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control.   As a result Quinn considers this law “a mission.”

“For a long time we did not have a requirement you wear a seatbelt. Then we passed a law making it mandatory,” Quinn said. “The law changed the culture. I hope it doesn’t take decades but we need this concussion law to change the culture too.”

 Researchers analyzed studies going back as far as 20 years, and found no hard science linking cell phone usage to brain tumors. Reuters quotes lead study author Dr. Anthony Swerdlow from Britain’s Institute of Cancer Research as saying the IARC members “were trying to classify the risk according to a pre-set classification system.”  

“Although there remains some uncertainty, the trend in the accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumors in adults,” the experts wrote in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The latest paper comes just two months after the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) decided cellphone use should be classified as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”  Anthony Swerdlow of Britain’s Institute of Cancer Research, who led the new review, told Reuters the two positions were not necessarily contradictory, since the IARC needed to put mobile phones into a pre-defined risk category.  “We are trying to say in plain English what we believe the relationship is. They (IARC) were trying to classify the risk according to a pre-set classification system,” Swerdlow said.

Swerdlow is chairman of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection’s Standing Committee on Epidemiology. The commission is the international body, recognized by the WHO, that constructs guidelines for exposure limits for non-ionizing radiation.

Since mobile phones have become such a key part of daily life — used by many for websurfing as well as talking — industry experts say a health threat is unlikely to stop people using them.  Even so, I’m playing it safe and using the hands free option.

Shifting cargo can cause tractor trailer trucks to overturn.  This phenomenon occurred earlier this week in Lexington, NC when a load of paper shifted inside a tractor trailer truck, causing the truck to overturn.  The 22 year old driver was thrown from and pinned under the truck.  Unfortunately, the young man later died from his injuries.  Reports from Lexington indicate that the truck was owned by Watkins Shepard of Conover, NC, so the driver was not an owner-operator.  The same report states that the truck was en route from Connecticut to Charlotte, NC, but it does not saywho was responsible for loading the paper into the trailer.