By Leftlane Staff
Saturday, Apr 22nd, 2006 @ 11:48 am

After being hit twice by distracted drivers who were talking on cell phones, Demetrius Thompson had an idea. If you can’t stop motorists from using cell phones while driving, you could at least warn them as they near an intersection. After all, that’s where most accidents involving distracted drivers occur. Thompson’s GPS-based solution — called MyMobileAlert — warns the user by causing them to hear an alert sound from their phone when driving within 300 feet of an approaching traffic signal, alerting the driver to pay attention. The system works with any GPS-enabled phone and the cellular data network communicates to a server built by Global Mobile Alert. Thompson cites a growing body of evidence suggesting that hands-free cell phones do nothing to prevent accidents, and the key is to address distraction. The City of Los Angeles tested Thompson’s system las spring, and is now working to deploy it.

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