You would think that most people would come to the conclusion that trying to send or answer a text message or SMS while driving would be dangerous.

There have been numerous studies done on this of late with varrying results. Some of the kindest have made this pratice akin to driving drunk.  Utah has just passed a law that will result in a person recieving the same sentence as a drunk driver when the person texting casuses an accident that results in a fatality.  http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/29/1224250 .

There are those who would say, ‘Why do we need a new law’.  The answer is that most states do have a law that would cover this; its falls under ‘driving while distracted’.  The problem is that to be found guilty under this statute, it must be proven that you were distracted.  The new Utah law bypasses this and presumes that if you are texting then you are making a choice to do so.

In my oponion, one person being injured let alone killed from this is un-satisfactory.

Now enters the smartphone app developers and is what prompted me to put this down.  What about a Speech2Text/Text2Speech application.  I currently have a Blackberry Curve and I have an application calle Vlingo (Vlingo.com). This application will allow me to send email, search the internet, send SMS, and open applications with voice. I also have no doubt that as these type of laws become more common, so will these types of applications.

The bottom line on this is that history has shown us that laws will not stop a person’s behavior, only they can choose to Text or not to Text while driving.  I also believe that many who feel that they can not drive without texting will opt for a voice type application. If this applies to you then you will want to ensure you purchase an application that will track and notate in your phone logs that the message was sent via the voice applicaton.

My advice is the same as it is for making phone calls while driving; Pull Over and Park!