Texting while driving is quickly being found to be nearly as dangerous as drinking and driving, and in some research even worse. Every province now has distracted driving or cell phone use laws with harsh fines. The difficulty is that it can be harder to prove than a DUI. Israeli mobile security company Cellebrite already has a roadside device that lets law enforcement monitor cell phone usage in real time, but they now have a device that will scan your phone after the fact and tell law enforcement when you were last texting.
A proposed new law in New York State would allow police to carry these devices in their cars and give them authority to scan your phone after an accident, or at a traffic stop where texting was suspected. Dubbed the "textalyzer", after the blood alcohol measuring breathalyzer, the device can't actually read your data. It only tells the officer if and when you were using your phone, so police would still need a warrant to access your mobile device. The proposed bill would make driving a car in the state equal consent to having the test done on your phone. So in the same way refusing to take a breathalyzer test can result in serious penalties, refusing the textalyzer would come with it's own fines and penalties. If this law passes, expect similar legislation across the US and Canada.
Since evidence of texting and driving can be hard to come by, especially when the car is already in the ditch, this could be a valuable tool for law enforcement. Knowing you can get caught even if they didn't see you can also serve as a major deterrent to stop distracted driving, which is good for everyone.
