NY Bill Would OK 'Textalyzer' for Cops to Peg Distracted Drivers

New York could be the first state to enact a distracted driving policy solution that enables police to examine phones at an accident site in a way that completely avoids drivers’ personal data.

A bill has been introduced by New York State Senator Terrence Murphy (R-Westchester) and Assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz (D-Kings), who announced their joint effort Thursday saying it could go a long way in protecting innocent people from injuries caused by distracted driving.

They're working with Distracted Operators Risk Casualties (DORCs), a nonprofit based in Chappaqua. DORCs co-founder is Ben Lieberman, a staunch advocate against distracted driving since he and his family lost their 19-year-old son, Evan, in a 2011 collision caused by a distracted driver.

“The general public knows distracted driving is a problem, but if people knew the extent of the damage caused by this behavior, they would be amazed,” said Lieberman in a statement. “With our current laws, we’re not getting accurate information because the issue is not being addressed at the heart of the problem—with the people causing the collisions.”

For weeks following the crash that resulted in Evan’s death, the driver’s phone was sitting in a junkyard, and police never retrieved the phone or phone records. Through his own civil lawsuit, Lieberman subpoenaed the phone records and discovered the driver had been texting while he was driving, leading up to the crash. Lieberman was surprised to learn that the local police force was not to blame for avoiding the driver’s device, but rather that this was typical because there is no official, consistent police protocol.

“I have often heard there is no such thing as a breathalyzer for distracted driving—so we created one,” Lieberman continued. “Respecting drivers’ personal privacy, however, is also important, and we are taking meticulous steps to not violate those rights.”

He said a key part of the legislation involves new “Textalyzer” technology that will allow officers to detect whether or not the device was being used around the time of a crash, but will not provide access to any content—keeping conversations, contacts, numbers, photos, and

Cellebrite, the leader in mobile device forensics solutions, is developing this capability for officers to detect device usage in the field while maintaining the privacy of data stored on the device.

“Cellebrite has been leading the adoption of field mobile forensics solutions by law enforcement for years, culminating in the formal introduction of our UFED FIELD series product line a year ago,” said Jim Grady, CEO, Cellebrite, Inc., in the same statement. “We look forward to supporting DORCs and law enforcement—both in New York and nationally—to curb distracted driving.”

“According to the National Safety Council car crash statistics spiked significantly this year and that is the first increase after ten years of steady decline. Since drunk driving is down and today’s cars are built better than ever, the addition of mobile devices in our lives becomes the most likely reason for this sudden increase,” said DORCs co-founder Deborah Becker.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. Despite this fact, and despite knowledge of the risk to themselves and others, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that 67 percent of drivers still use their mobile phones while behind the wheel.

"The facts regarding distracted driving are startling," said Murphy. "Every year thousands of Americans are involved in an automobile accident a result of distractions behind the wheel. I am thrilled to partner with Assemblyman Ortiz and the Lieberman family to bring more awareness to this issue and support legislation that will help our law enforcement more effectively enforce the rules of the road."

Lieberman pointed out that positive change in the number of drunk-driving collisions took place after people started being held accountable. "It’s time to recognize that distracted driving is a similar impairment, and should be dealt with in a similar fashion. This is a way to address people who are causing damage."