It's tempting to immediately check your phone when it notifies you of a new text message. But ignoring that sound when operating a vehicle is important for safe driving -- something that can be difficult, especially for teenagers.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) added distracted driving to its 2013 "most-wanted list" in November. So far, 35 states have passed laws banning cellphone use while driving, however some of those bans only pertain to beginner drivers.
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App developers have made a number of apps for both iOS and Android devices that help parents discourage their kids from texting while driving.
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Some of these apps put a lock on the texting function, and leave it up to teens to be responsible drivers. Others let the parents control the phone by putting it in airplane mode so when a text comes in, the phone doesn't even beep. The level of parental control varies with each apps -- some require more responsibility on the part of your teenager to launch the app, while others can detect when the car moves at a particular speed.
Check out the gallery below and tell us, would you use an app to keep your teens from operating their phones while driving?
DriveOFF
The Android app by car insurance company Esure can detect when drivers are traveling at more than 10 mph, and will shut off other apps that could be distracting, as well as temporarily halt incoming calls and text messages. The free app also displays a static screensaver, that gives your teen even less of a reason to glance at their phone.
Click here to view this gallery.
Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, lisafx
This story originally published on Mashable here.