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http://www.longisland.com/news/09-08-14/rice-proposes-plan-to-combat-driving-while-texting.html

DA Rice’s Five-Point Plan to Reduce Driving While Texting focuses on using smartphone operating systems, auto insurance rate structures, court discretion, enhanced enforcement and enhanced public awareness efforts in order to help end the distracted driving epidemic.

1. Smartphone Operating Systems. DA Rice sent a letter today to the heads of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Blackberry urging the companies to take the technologies behind various existing third-party apps to block texting during driving and incorporate them directly into smartphone operating systems, thereby vastly expanding the reach of such technologies into the hands of hundreds of millions of users. If cell phone manufacturers can make "kill switches" standard to help prevent thefts, they can certainly make certain apps standard to save lives.

2. Auto Insurance Rate Structures. DA Rice sent a letter today to three of the nation’s largest insurance industry associations, whose members cover millions of Americans, asking them to urge auto insurance providers to give discounts to policyholders who use devices or apps that block texting during driving.

3. Court Discretion. DA Rice announced today that she will recommend to the sentencing court the use of these devices in any case involving a texting violation. Where any charge is being reduced as a part of a guilty plea, she will mandate the device as a condition. There will be a specific plea program for young drivers that employs these devices pre-sentence to allow the young driver to earn a reduction in the charge and sentence. Like ignition interlock devices, transdermal alcohol monitoring ankle bracelets and personal breath testing instruments, DA Rice believes that available technologies must be employed in criminal sentences to change behavior and save lives. The cost of each of these devices would be borne by the offender.

DA Rice also sent letters today to Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and local magistrates, under whose jurisdictions most summonses for driving while texting are handled, to encourage them to adopt this same discretion.

4. Law Enforcement. DA Rice sent a letter today to Nassau County Police Department Acting Commissioner Thomas Krumpter, as well as other local police departments, supporting enhanced enforcement and specifically requesting that summons for texting while driving be issued when factually appropriate, even where arrests for higher level, criminal charges - like reckless driving - are being made.

5. Public Awareness. DA Rice announced today that her office will create a web page to aggregate resources for those interested in technology and education designed to combat distracted driving, and a multitude of other safe driving issues. In addition, DA Rice will add information about distracted driving devices and apps to her "Choices and Consequences” high school education program, which already addresses texting while driving along with drunk, drugged and other forms of reckless driving.