By now you're probably — and hopefully — very clear on the dangers of texting while driving, not to mention the hefty ticket you can get if caught doing it (or talking on your phone without a headset) behind the wheel. As much as parents would like to hope their kids are also also obeying the law when driving on their own, there hasn't been a way to ensure they are — but there soon could be.
AT&T is working on a smartphone and tablet app that will let parents disable texting, calling, and even internet access on their child's phone remotely, switching these features off automatically if it's determined that they're traveling in a vehicle. The app could also send parents alerts if their kids are driving too fast or dangerously, keeping a log of potentially reckless activity so that they can be gone over once the child returns home.
It's not exactly clear how the software would determine if the child is actually behind the wheel or simply a passenger in a car or using other forms of transportation. There's also an obvious concern that by disabling a phone remotely, it might not be able to be used in the event the child is involved in an accident. We expect that these issues will be addresses when AT&T formally announces the app, but we don't have an idea of when that's going to happen just yet.
[via The Verge]
This article was written by Randy Nelson and originally appeared on Tecca
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