Cell phones behind the wheel— they’re a deadly plague on traffic safety that cause frequent and preventable crashes. Even worse is the fact that scores of mature drivers are just as guilty as any number of 16-year-old sidewalk terrors more concerned with texting back than taking the wheel.

One company is offering a solution that could help cut down on the number of cellular offenders endangering themselves and others. Scosche is offering a device that blocks cell usage in a car while the vehicle is in motion called CellCONTROL.

As with any new technology, compatibility is always a concern. All the same, Scosche insists that the CellCONTROL is broadly compatible and easy to use. Any car sold in the U.S. in 1996 or later was made with an OBD-II interface, which is all their system needs to work within the car. They also claim that it works with more than 1,200 different phones such as BlackBerry 4.5 and higher, Android 2.1 and above, yet the iPhone is unmistakably missing from their list.

Once installed, drivers will find that their phone is only accessible via bluetooth headset. Email, SMS and really everything that would take your eyes off the road is out of reach until the wheels stop spinning.

While this is certainly a step in the right direction, we wonder how many people will really use this device. It costs $129.95 on the company site, so after shipping and all costs, you’re likely to drop at least $150 when you can just as easily put the phone out of reach, say in a briefcase behind your seat.

The bluetooth headset should still reach at that range and you won’t be tempted to send snarky tweets while steering. Another obvious question: what about your passengers? Unless you’re the antisocial type or always drive alone, it would be a real nuisance for the co-pilot to be locked up as well.

That said, there are some great applications which are surefire selling points. Parents looking for a way to enforce safe driving habits probably wont bat an eyelash at a one-time expense to keep the kiddies safe. To sweeten the deal, the CellCONTROL gets a designated administrator, say mom or dad, and notifies them if someone tampers with the device.

It’s a good idea that parents will probably buy into, but unless insurance companies start offering discounts to drivers who install these things, it seems like a hard sell to the adult crowd.

Take the brand new Volvo FH16 out for a spin… but be careful of obstacles. That’s the idea behind Volvo Trucks’ new game for smartphones and tablets.

Released to coincide with the 25^th anniversary of Volvo’s flagship truck, FH16 750 is an exciting and entertaining game that tests your lighting fast reflexes. The object of the game is to get rid of various obstacles that pop up and get in your way. To move to the next level (there are eight to get through), you need to accumulate enough points… and not crash your truck. The game also offers some interesting facts about the Volvo Trucks’ FH16-750.

“It’s easy to learn, but hard to master. If you’re good, you can get onto the high-score lists and boast about your results on Facebook or Twitter. There is also a contest on Worldtrucker, our online truck community, where weekly prizes are awarded,” said Niclas Hermansson, Digital Marketing Strategist at Volvo Trucks.

You can download the FH16 750 game for free at the Apple App Store, Android Market or Volvo Trucks’ game site To download the game, you need the iPhone 4/4S or iPad 2 or Android 2.3 phones or tablets with 480×800 screen resolution or higher.

Be sure to check out the game trailer after the jump.

If you weren’t addicted to your Crackberry before, you will be once you get your hands on the Porsche Design P’9981 Smartphone from Blackberry.

Encased in stainless steel and leather, the Porsche Design P’9981 comes with a host of luxe features that will make sure you’ll never want to put it down. With an enhanced 1.2 GHz processor and 8 GB of onboard memory, you’ll be able to browse the Internet to your heart’s content. In terms of technical features, it also comes with 720p HD video recording, dual band Wi-Fi, a built-in compass and access to a selection of exclusive apps.

The Porsche Design P’9981 Smartphone’s wide QWERTY keyboard means texting is a lot easier, and its Liquid Graphics 2.8” high resolution display touch screen ensures you won’t be squinting to read your messages.

Some special features that come with this cool Blackberry include the Wikitude World Browser app, which lets you find and send relevant information instantly. You’ll also get a limited edition PIN series, Near Field Communication and BlackBerry Tag, as well as access to BlackBerry App World 3.0.

No word on a price for the Porsche Design P’9981 Smartphone from Blackberry, but we’re guessing since it’s being touted as a special edition, it’ll come with a special edition price.

[Source: Uncrate]

Distracted driving isn’t just limited to texting and talking on your cell phone. Now, more than ever, there are so many things that can shift our attention from the road  like GPS units and MP3 players.

To cut down on all the potential distractions that surround you in your car, a company called ALPS has come up with a concept steering wheel that cuts out all those buttons and instead offers touch sensitive pads.

Designed to be safer for drivers, the ALPS wheel trackpad would let you centralize all of the commands you commonly use in your vehicle and put it right in the steering wheel. To check directions or change a tune, all it takes is the sweep of a finger, kind of like using a smartphone. This means you wouldn’t have to take your eyes off the road when you wanted to crank the volume on your stereo. In the future, the ALPS wheel trackpad could even incorporate handwriting recognition, which would make it much easier to type in directions to your GPS.

[Source: Oh Gizmo]

With every development of a new app, the smartphone is turning into a necessity. The latest to be created for car owners is the Car Recalls iPhone app.

For owners who want to find a better way to stay on top of all the recalls regarding their vehicles, they can refer to this software and search for recalls that date as early as 1950. New recalls that are issued with be notified to your phone as well.

As handy as this tool may be, the Car Recalls iPhone app does have some shortcomings. The app does not provide a contact number to get in touch with specialists that handle the recall, nor does it provide details on the consequences if one does not address the problem in a timely manner. Regardless, if your car is recalled, call your local dealer and book a service appointment.

The app isn’t free, but it does cost just $.99 and can be purchased here.

[Source: InsideLine]

Ever been out to the mall or on a trip out of town and wondered if you had closed your garage door?

Well if you have the new Craftsman garage door with AssureLink, you can close your door using your smart phone, laptop or tablet.

The system works similarly to that used by some car companies to remotely unlock doors or start the car. This system will allow you to close your garage door as long as you have a working smart device.

What if someone is in the way as the door closes? The system has you covered, as it makes plenty of audible sounds, plus will re-open if its obstructed by an object, so no worries about crushing anyone.

This system will appeal to many, but it does come with a price. Craftsman will require you to register for this app and it has an annual user fee of $19.99. Not bad if you are in California, wondering if your garage door is open in Kansas.

[Source: USA Today]

Good news for parents – taking a stand against distracted driving, Sprint has just launched a new app that disables smart phone functions while driving.

The Sprint Drive First app locks your cell phone when the car is moving over 10 mph and sends calls automatically to voice mail. It won’t distract you with an annoying beep to let you know you just got a new email or text, and just to let the sender know you can’t get to your phone at the moment, the app sends out an automated, customizable message as a response. Once you come to a stop, the app can tell you’re not moving anymore, so it will unlock your cell phone. Even if you’re stopped in traffic, it won’t unlock your phone unless you’ve been sitting there for a few minutes.

If you want to override the app and turn on your phone, just hit the Exit or 911 buttons, but be warned teenagers – your parents will receive a notification. For even more control, parents can choose up to five numbers that can ring through the locked phone  and three apps that can still be used when the car is moving, such as GPS or a music player.

Sprint is the latest cell phone carrier to fight distracted driving with a dedicated app.  AT&T recently released a similar app for Blackberry users that sends an auto-reply to texts, emails and calls. And in January, T-Mobile unveiled an app that limits smartphone functions while driving.

Sprint Drive First will cost $2 a month and will only be available on Android. If you’ve got a Blackberry, don’t worry – a version of the app will be available for your phone in the near future.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Imagine having a gadget in your car that could tell you how fast to go to avoid stopping at the next light. Well, now you can. A network of dashboard smartphones can monitor traffic lights and congestion helping drivers avoid idling, cutting fuel use by 20 percent.

SignalGuru collects and analyzes traffic data from images captured on dashboard smartphones, to inform drivers of the most efficient routes. The researchers installed iPhones on car dashboards in Cambridge, Massachusetts and in Singapore, where traffic lights have fixed schedules. SignalGuru can predict when lights will change with an error margin of two-thirds of a second.

The SignalGuru study won a best paper award at last month’s Association for Computing Machinery MobiSys conference, but the program would require many users to be a real solution for traffic congestion.

“If you can save even a small percentage of that, then you can have a large effect on the energy that the U.S. consumes,” Emmanouil Koukoumidis, a Princeton PhD candidate and visiting researcher at MIT, was quoted as saying.

[Source: CNET]

Today, Nissan announced that it will be the first automaker to offer Quick Response codes on individual vehicle window stickers across its entire 2012 lineup. The QR codes link consumers to additional vehicle information, providing a free interactive shipping experience through smartphone devices.

“Nissan’s new QR code program puts important decision-making information at shoppers’ fingertips while on dealership lots, helping sales personnel make a more effective presentation, as well as providing customers with a ‘silent salesperson’ if they are shopping the lot after hours,” said Jon Brancheau, vice president, Marketing, Nissan North America. “It’s a true mass market effort across all products and all Nissan dealerships nationwide – part of our pledge to bring innovation to every aspect of the vehicle design, buying and ownership experience.”

Important information available through the QR codes includes:

• Specific vehicle information, including grade walk, key features and available accessories
• Video based product overviews
• Image gallery
• Incentive offers
• Dealer inventory
• Request a quote capability
• Join mailing list request
• Dealer location support

“Initial consumer response, based on early 2012 Altima QR code availability, has been extremely encouraging, with consumers viewing multiple pages and requesting follow-up information regarding current offers and inventory,” said Brancheau. “It’s one more way Nissan helps the consumer by delivering content on their terms.”

Something to allow city-dwellers, sports car owners, or high-school principals to sleep easy at night: a new app for iPhones, Droids, and Blackberries will warn you when some @#%! is messing with your car, allowing you to dispense justice as you see fit.

Budding Charles Bronsons can take comfort in knowing that this is the first specific app designed for cars. Developed by Intel, it connects to your car’s existing security system and begins working when that is triggered. It can stream video (placed in and around the car, presumably) to a cloud server through WiFi, directly to your phone, or record it for World’s Wildest Police Videos.

Intel is also checking to see if the app can share data with carmakers, but that level of privacy intrusion may get messy. There’s no word on when the app will be finished, but for anyone who uses faculty parking, hopefully before the school year starts.

[Source: DVICE]