The agency lives in a world where low-powered GPS jammer can range up to nine meters and more advanced transmissions can block all football-sized transmissions. These obviously created public safety problems.
But if the small-scale interference technology can be installed only a few centimeters away on the steering wheel - not enough to influence the surrounding vehicles or even other passengers in the automobile, is it enough to protect the driver from being stupid?
Become when the technology is flexible enough not to interfere with medical devices such as pacemakers or insulin pumps? Or use streaming music services?
More importantly, is changed into when police or emergency calls are not being handled?
"It's doable," said Todd Humphreys, associate professor of engineering at the college of Texas at Austin. "After a correct calibration, the shaft protection is sufficient to make the driver's cell phone intolerable near the steering wheel, but not enough to impair the passenger's availability."
He said the jammer can use the algorithm to adjust its output based on changes in the cell's signal strength while driving, so the jamming field remains constant.
However, there will always be human factors.
Humphries rightly pointed out that a small number of drivers (my words, not his words) want to avoid interference zones by putting their phones away from their arms or leaning back in their seats.
He said, "This can lead to more dangerous situations than we are trying to avoid."
T. Charles Clancy, executive director of the national safety Hume and era middle at Virginia Tech, has the same idea.
He said, "Now if you want to text and drive, use the range you need to overcome interference technology."
According to A. Lee Swindlehurst, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Irvine, “No matter where the driver puts his phone, he'll find the best place, just the driver's equipment. Stop it."
He said this was technically feasible, 'but it will be a difficult design. "
Perhaps we don't want to go the route of interference. Perhaps the opposite is that we all equip cell phones with devices, and if their sensors and cameras detect movement or see the user quickly raise and lower their eyes while driving, texting is not allowed.
Marwan Krunz, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the college of Arizona, said cell phone jammer could also be designed to block incoming signals but not solve outgoing calls (changed into the hassle of emergencies).
The point is, as long as federal agencies are willing to change, there are possible solutions.
The Florida native has been fined $ 48,000 and has been using cell phones on the freeway for years. He was charged with "using illegal material" and was ordered to arrest him.