Chambersburg, PA—One local mother is concerned and doing something about teen texting while driving. When Pamela Rajtik learned of the statistics that 40 percent of young Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 have been in a car while the driver was texting and driving, she thought, “someone should do something about this.” As the mother of teens, she was more than just a little concerned. After waiting and learning, researching and taking notes, and talking with other parents, Pamela has started a new non-profit organization to help educate kids about the dangers of texting while driving.

New Non-Profit: Parents Against Texting Teens

“For awhile I waited for someone to come up with an idea or answer to the problem as I saw it,” she said. “Then I realized I was the ’someone’ I was waiting for to do something about texting and driving,” she said.

While Pamela’s organization (Parents Against Texting Teens) is just local to Chambersburg, PA, more awareness about texting while is growing. So far, 19 states have banned texting while driving, and for good reason; the statistics are horrific. According to the National Safety Council, 1.6 million accidents a year are caused by cell phone use. The Christian Science Monitor reports that 1.4 million crashes are caused by people talking on their cell phones, while conservatively estimated, there are another 200,000 caused by people texting while driving. Texting takes a driver’s focus away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. According to an article written by Vicky Taylor, PublicOpinion.com, this is enough time to travel the length of a football field at 55 mph—enough time to have or cause an accident.

Concerned parents are banding together to help. PATT (Parents Against Texting Teens) is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing awareness through education and community visibility of the dangers of texting while driving. According to Taylor’s article, the group is developing 10-second video messages that will be shown in school. Before the videos are shown, the plan is to distribute “text only” cell phones to the students. While the videos are being played, the students would randomly receive brief text messages such as “LOL.” They would have instructions to quickly read the messages when the phone they have been assigned receives it. The messages would always be sent to part of the class while a video was being shown. After the video was finished, the students, including the students who received the text messages, would be asked questions about the video. The aim would be to show how taking or sending a text message can distract an individual from the task at hand, including driving. PATT would like to see the program taken to not just high schools and driver education programs, but to middle schools as well. The idea is that early education is the key to preventing this dangerous behavior.

Texting, a major part of distracted driving, needs to be addressed. Even with the new laws against it, it is alarming to drive around and see people texting or talking on their cell phones. More awareness, more education, or perhaps just more common sense is needed. See my blog, Still Texting While Driving? (http://www.cellplaza.org/blog/2095/still-texting-while-driving/). How can we personally help cut down on the texting? We can each of us, personally, just stop!

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Phone call restrictions in Japan leave more people texting. After the earthquake in Japan earlier this month, cell phone providers as well as landline phone service was restricted or at best, heavily congested. Many found the only way to reassure friends and family was through texting. CNET reported that in addition to texting, people were using “social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Mixi” to stay in touch. The phone carriers were “limiting voice calls on congested networks, with NTT DoCoMo restricting up to 80 percent of voice calls, especially in Tokyo and in northeast Japan, where 30-foot tsunami waves caused extensive damage.” Even after restrictions were relaxed, coverage was spotty. For many, texting was the answer.

Texting, Not Phone Calls Better During Disasters

Social media networks helped keep communications open. The most noted were Twitter, Facebook, and Mixi. Here in the States, we are very familiar with Twitter and Facebook. Mixi is the social network most popular in Japan. While phone lines were restricted, the social media via Internet as well as through mobile phones provided viable solutions. Posting status on Facebook kept families informed about their loved ones. Twitter also played a big role. All in all, communication streams seemed to stay open fairly well.

Twitter was one of the best ways to stay in touch. At one point there were over 20 tweets per second being sent. By the end of the first day, U.S. time, a total of 246,075 Twitter posts using the term “earthquake” were posted on the site, according to The Telegraph. According to the article in Ed Silverstein, TMCnet Contributor, “mobile phone operators provided an emergency service to check on friends or relatives who reported in using their mobile phone numbers, according to Twitter. The companies providing the service were i-mode, au/kddi, Softbank, Willcom, E-Mobile, and NTT (News - Alert) East.” The US State Department also “used Twitter to post emergency numbers, and provided instructions for Americans how to contact families in Japan. Relief organizations used Twitter to give information about shelters for victims of the earthquake.” Verizon Wireless and at&t offered free calling and texting to Japan for the Stateside folks trying to reach their friends and family in Japan.

Cell phone service was sporadic for several days after the earthquake. Many cell phone towers were either damaged or destroyed by the earthquake or the tsunami that followed. According to ComputerWorld, 3 cell phone carriers delivered base stations to Japan. Base stations can facilitate a connection between telecom networks and satellites.

This isn’t the first time we have seen communications during disasters better served by cell phones. See my blog Cell Phones in Haiti are Key to Emergency Services. More countries worldwide are connected by cell phones than ever before. In 2010, it was predicted that cell phone subscriptions worldwide would reach 5 billion by year’s end. For many 3rd world countries, landline phone service isn’t as available as cell phone service. It only makes sense that the people in Japan would also use cell phones both to text and to access the Internet during this crisis.

Did you have loved ones in Japan during the earthquake and tsunami? Did you connect through Facebook or Twitter? Were you able to take advantage of the free calls or free texting from Verizon or at&t? Let us know what worked for you.

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The largest wireless service providers, AT&T and Verizon Wireless have announced free calling and free texting to Japan. Peace of mind is free for a limited time. In the wake of one of the worst natural disasters in history, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and 30 feet tsunamis, the world watched in horror and worried about the people in Japan. Now with nuclear reactor melt-downs, everyone is sitting on pins and needles waiting…

AT&T was first to announce free calling and free texting to Japan. Verizon followed suit shortly thereafter. Both companies also make it easy to donate by texting to help the people in Japan. If you are calling from an AT&T phone, simply text “redcross” to 90999 to donate $10 (added to your cell phone bill) to help the relief efforts in Japan.

Verizon actually posted a list of 9 charities to text donations. Verizon customers can easily make a $10 donation by simply sending a text message and may choose from nine organizations aiding those in need in Japan, including the American Red Cross. Donating $10 is easy – simply text the specific word to the organization’s designated short code:

* ADRA Relief: text SUPPORT to 85944
* American Red Cross Relief: text REDCROSS to 90999
* Convoy of Hope: text TSUNAMI or SUNAMI to 50555
* Global Giving: text JAPAN to 50555
* International Medical Corps: text MED to 80888
* Mercy Corps: text MERCY to 25383
* Salvation Army: text JAPAN to 80888
* Save the Children Federation, Inc.: text JAPAN or TSUNAMI to 20222
* World Relief Corp. of National Association of Evangelicals: text WAVE to 50555
* World Vision, Inc.: text 4JAPAN or 4TSUNAMI to 20222

Text messages are free for customers donating to any of these organizations. Verizon Wireless always waives text-messaging fees for disaster relief, and 100 percent of each $10 donation goes to the relief organization. For Verizon Wireless customers who pay monthly bills, the $10 donations will appear in customers’ next regular monthly bill. For customers using the company’s prepaid services, the $10 donations will be taken from customers’ prepaid balance.

As with any crisis, scammers are beginning to form schemes to take advantage of people’s generosity. See my blog Avoid Donation Scams—Giving Help to Japan. My advice would be to text from the list provided above if you are a Verizon customer, or check with your cell phone service provider for their approved list.

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4i Concepts’s 4iThumbs2 is a stick on keyboard for the iPhone. The concept behind the stick on keyboard, available in both portrait and landscape mode for $13-$25 with bumper, is to get users comfortable with the virtual keyboard. According to an article by Doug Rule, Mobiledia, “4i Concepts’s 4iThumbs2 is an invisible, removable plastic film that sits over the face of an iPhone, with ridges between keys to help ensure a finger hits the intended key, not any of its neighbors. The film is held in place by a bumper, and can be easily removed and stored on the back of the phone when not in use.”

“As the only tactile ridged screen for the iPhone, 4iThumbs2 is sort of like training wheels for new iPhone users, making their transition to a touch screen comfortable and easy,” said Jerry Rosengarten, founder of 4i Concepts.

Have you sent embarrassing text messages because of typos? There is actually a website dedicated to the laughable and embarrassing mistakes. It’s called “Damn You Auto Correct.” It features mistakes like “Your Mum and I are going to divorce next month,” instead of “Your Mum and I are going to Disney next month.” The founder of the site, Jillian Madison, has actually been offered a book deal due out this month, according to an article by Brian McCullough, Mobiledia. Perhaps this new keyboard will help that situation.

iPhone users seem to be more susceptible to texting errors than other Smartphone texters. According to the article on Mobiledia, apparently this is due to the fact that iPhone requires specific input to decline an auto suggestion, and many users are in too much of a hurry and just press “send” without checking. Not only can this be embarrassing but can be potentially career damaging, depending on who you are texting.

What about the Android users? So far there are no plans for a similar keyboard for the Droids. Perhaps this is because they vary in screen size. Regardless, Google has given the Android users several tools to help with their clumsy fingers. I think my personal favorite is Swype. It allows you to slide your finger along from letter to letter in a continuous motion and have the Swype app auto suggest words. Another tool Google offers on the Android is speech to text so you can dictate your testing. It works fairly well, and is of course editable.

Got any embarrassing text mistakes you want to share? Are you an iPhone user or use another Smartphone? The bottom line is that you should proofread your texts before sending. Yes, a keyboard trainer would help, but you still need to check your words.

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Is your teen sexting? Sexting is the practice of sending naughty pictures via text message or email. There is apparently an epidemic of sexting going on with teens today. (And for those who feel like they are still teens… LOL) But all kidding aside, it is a major problem among teens today. Many teens today have their own cell phones, and it is considered a violation of their privacy to monitor their texting and calls. (When I was young it was like having your mother read your diary…) And while you may not want to step on your teen’s privacy issues, did you know that in some states the parents can be punished for the sexting that their teen does?

Your Teen’s Sexting Could Get YOU Sentenced…

Texas Senator Watson wants to punish the parents of kids who are sexting. His idea is to force them to attend a mandatory education program. If your teen is caught sexting YOU can be sent to “Sext Ed.” He also wants to reduce the punishment for the teens. Right now sexting a nude photo of yourself, if you are underage, constitutes child pornography. This is true for the sender as well as the receiver of the photo. They can even be branded as sex offenders before they have reached the legal age of consent. Senator Watson wants to take into consideration that they are in fact, just teens, and it shouldn’t ruin their lives.

Awareness of sexting has risen in the last few years. There are campaigns to educate teens of the potential consequences for sexting. Not only can there be legal ramifications, but with social networking, the lives of those involved can be devastated. See my blog Sexting: Give It a Ponder before you text. James Lipton, host of Inside the Actors Studio, and LG did a full campaign of ads asking teens to stop and think before involving themselves in sexting. Is it effective? The figures aren’t in yet, but we have to start somewhere. Obviously there is a problem, and it is getting worse as more teens have Smartphones and connection to social media networks via their phones. Teens don’t seem to realize the long term consequences of sending naked photos of themselves or friends (?) back and forth. Educating them seems a good place to start. It’s just a starting place, but what else can we do?

Should government make more laws to control our activities? Do you agree that parents should be held responsible for their teen’s actions? Teen sexting is much like teen drinking and driving. After all, if your teen is involved in a drinking and driving accident, you are the one who can be sued. Should the same apply if your teen is sexting? Let us know what you think.

photo credit: CHP Zero Tolerance Day

California Highway Patrol officers cited 216 motorists on February 8th for violating California cell phone laws. 52 verbal warnings were issued and two motorists were arrested for DUIs while being stopped for cell phone violations. February 8th was designated “Zero Tolerance Day” by the CHP. Last year the Zero Tolerance period was for 2 days, with 588 citations. That doesn’t seem like a lot if you consider how large the state of California is and how many drivers there are.

CHP Zero Tolerance Day 2011

California law prohibits use of hand-held cell phones by all motorists. According to an article by Cathy Locke, SacBee.com, the law also forbids anyone younger than 18 years old from using any type of cell phone – hand-held or hands-free – while driving. Motorists also are prohibited from text messaging while driving.

Statewide citation figures are astounding. According to Ms. Locke, from July 2008 through December 2010, CHP officers issued 329,602 citations statewide to motorists who were in violation of the hands-free law and 5,100 citations for texting while driving, according to the CHP’s traffic records system. Cell phone violations carry a minimum base fine of $20 for the first offense and $50 for the second offense. When court costs and other fees are added to the fines, the total cost of the violation exceeds $100 for the first offense, officials said.

To date, only 9 states have a hands free law. See my blog Driving and Talking is Only Banned in 9 States. 30 states prohibit texting while driving. Many states restrict teenage drivers from using cell phones entirely while driving, whether using a hands free device or not. State by state the laws vary, with some cities having stricter laws than the state in which they belong. Regardless of where you live, distracted driving is not a good idea, even if it isn’t against your state laws.

There is a wide spread campaign against distracted driving. Many legislators as well as President Obama are actively campaigning against distracted driving. Oprah Winfrey has a website dedicated to taking the No Phone Pledge. To date, 419,868 people have pledged. I just pledged. You can pledge too at Oprah’s No Phone Zone Pledge.

Whether you pledge or don’t pledge isn’t the question. The real question is “Do you text or use a cell phone while driving?” Save a life, maybe even your own. Be safe while driving.

NY Senator Carl Kruger has introduced a bill to prevent New Yorkers from talking on their mobile phones while crossing the street. The bill aims at making it illegal for the New Yorkers to use their mobile handsets for calling, texting, scrolling through their emails, or playing with their iPod, while walking down the busy New York streets. Kruger said on his website: “You can’t be fully aware of your surroundings if you’re fiddling with a Blackberry, dialing a phone number, playing Super Mario Brothers on a Game Boy or listening to music on an iPod.”

NY Senator Wants a Ban on Texting While Walking

Under the bill, culprits would be fined $100. I am always amazed that lawmakers think a small fine will enforce a law. Think of all the people who drive without seat belts, even though there is a fine for not using them. Do you think a fine will deter people from talking or texting while walking? There are laws in place to govern how we use our cells phones. We have hands-free laws for driving. 19 states have banned texting while driving. Neither of these laws is very effective, fines or not. What makes Senator Kruger think his law will be any more effective?

Many pedestrians are unaware of their surroundings. We call it distracted walking… Remember the Fountain Lady from last month that was so busy texting while she was walking in a mall that she walked into a fountain. See my blog Hey Fountain Lady. There is an app for texting while walking. It’s called Road SMS. It uses your cell phone camera as a real time video camera with a texting keyboard overlay so you can see where you are going while you are texting. If the Fountain Lady had used this app, perhaps she wouldn’t have fallen into the fountain.

We live in a mobile communications world. Our lifestyles have to adjust to the technology. Texting while driving is hazardous to everyone. Holding your cell phone up to your ear to talk while driving is just a bad idea. And I can see how distracted pedestrians who talk or text while crossing a busy street can cause serious problems. The only thing I am unsure of is creating laws to prohibit these activities. Statistically it has been shown ineffective to make laws to push people into being smarter with cell phone usage. To me it just seems like a waste of time and effort. What’s your take on it?

Are you planning to tweet “OMG It’s 2011” tonight from Times Square? You’re in luck because AT&T has expanded the hot spots around Times Square to accommodate all the users tonight. The “hotzone,” as AT&T calls it, is part of the company’s response to all the complaints about its 3G network. AT&T’s connection problems will be magnified by the 1 million people expected to gather in Times Square tonight to watch the ball drop. Many will want to send photos, e-mails and text messages from the celebration.

AT&T to Expand Wi-Fi Hotspots in Times Square in time for New Year’s

Smartphone users have been complaining about AT&T’s 3G network being slow. This is especially true in high traffic areas like San Francisco and New York. Earlier this year, AT&T started its outdoor Wi-Fi project, and installed pilot Wi-Fi hotzones in New York, Chicago, Illinois and Charlotte, North Carolina. They are now attempting to fortify the Wi-Fi in New York and also in San Francisco’s Embarcadero Center. According to an article posted by John D. Sutter, CNN, these public, outdoor Wi-Fi connections are intended to supplement the company’s 3G cellular service, the company said in a press release on December 28th.

“Our initial AT&T Wi-Fi hotzones have received great customer response and supported high data traffic,” says John Donovan, AT&T’s chief technology officer. “The pilot demonstrated the clear benefits of having fast and readily-available Wi-Fi options for our customers and our network, and so we have decided to deploy hotzones in more locations.” The Wi-Fi “hotzones” supplement AT&T’s existing network of more than 20,000 indoor Wi-Fi “hot spots,” the company says. However, AT&T wouldn’t comment on how much traffic the New York hotzone would be able to handle.

“As in any situation where a large number of people in a dense area are using Smartphones, periods of network congestion can occur,” the AT&T spokesman wrote in an e-mail to CNN. “Wi-Fi hotzones provide another broadband option in high traffic areas, and we feel that customers will benefit from having the option to log onto AT&T Wi-Fi in these locations.”

Are you going to be one of the million crazy people gathered in Times Square tonight? I expect to see a Tweet from you to us @cellplaza.

Tired of going over the limits of your cell phone plan? At least with texting, there is a solution. With mobile broadband access, you can download apps to give you unlimited texting. It is no surprise that these apps are some of the most popular apps downloaded. Many of these free apps come with ads, but it is a small price to pay for a new phone number that delivers unlimited texting to your cell phone.

Best Apps for Unlimited Texting

How does it work? You sign up for the texting service and download the app from the app market on your Smartphone. In an article by Steve Kovach, provided by Business Insider, he lists his favorite 8 apps for unlimited texting, Kik, Google Voice, Fring, textPlus, TextNow, Meebo, WhatsApp Messenger, Textfree, with Google Voice being Steve’s favorite.

• Kik is a BBM alternative for iPhone and Android. Kik does what BBM or BlackBerry Messenger does, sending messages almost instantly, and gives you notification of when it was delivered and received. While iPhone and the Droid markets embrace it, BlackBerry has pulled it from their app market.
• Fring is a messaging app that connects to the major instant message networks such as AIM, Google Talk, ICQ, MSN, and Facebook. Fring also lets you make free voice and video calls, but only to other Fring members. Fring works on iPhone, Android, and Nokia Symbian platforms.
• textPlus is an iPhone only app that gives you a separate phone number for sending and receiving texts. The free service assigns you a phone number or you can pay $1.99 to pick your own number. You can send photos as well, but only to other iPhones using the service. It is ad supported but you can remove the ads by paying $2.99 per year.
• textNow is for the Apple devices, iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. Like textPlus, it assigns you a phone number and is ad supported unless you pay either $.99 per month or $5.99 per year. If someone calls your new number, you can have the call instantly forwarded to your phone or voicemail.
• Meebo is an all in one messaging service. Like Fring, Meebo connects you to all the major instant message networks. Meebo’s interface is a little nicer, however. Meebo’s app is free on iPhone, BlackBerry and Android.
• WhatsApp not only sends texts, but allows you to send unlimited multimedia messages such as audio, video, or photos within the app. It is also ad free, which is nice. WhatsApp is free on Android, BlackBerry and Nokia Symbian, but you pay $.99 for the app on iPhone.
• TextFree is another iPhone only app. The app is free, gives you a new phone number to send and receive texts from, but is loaded with ads unless you pay the $5.99 per year.
• Google Voice rocks! You get to choose your own phone number, and not only can you set it to ring on all your phones, home as well as mobile, but you get unlimited text messaging and voicemail that emails you with a text transcript—all for free! It works on all the major Smartphones. It’s easy to see why it is Steve Kovach’s favorite. I have been using Google Voice for about 8 months and love it.

Which app is best for your needs? Of course it depends on your texting or instant messaging needs, and also which Smartphone platform you use. My suggestion is to try Google Voice first. If it is a good fit, there is no need to go further.

Just 2 days after the earthquake of January 12, 2010 hit Haiti, the first ever EIR (Emergency Information Service) was set up and in place to help. The goal was to provide SMS messaging on cell phones to the disaster-torn country. Working with InSTEDD, the Haitians were able to sign up for a free subscription to the Digicel and Comcel networks to receive our free Creole-language alerts.

Cell Phones in Haiti are key to emergency services

Text messaging has saved countless lives in Haiti so far. One man trapped for 5 days in a collapsed building text messaged for help. The EIR was able to track him through GPS and saved his life. EIR has also been able to broadcast emergency treatment center information to the people.

Entrepreneurs have capitalized by offering cell phone charging stations for the disaster victims. One man was charging 40 gourdes (75 cents) for a 15 minute charge for the phone. The line is long even though a Digicel location is offering free charging just down the street from the man.

Haiti’s cell phone networks were mostly restored within one day of the earthquake. This is amazing to me, but thank goodness. SMS networks were the most robust of the systems, providing Port-au-Prince’s emergency services a main point of contact for the government.

Even though SMS subscribers are growing every day, the radio remains the most efficient source of information. Internews, a media development organization, has been broadcasting a daily Creole-language program called “Nouvelles-Utiles” (News You Can Use) on 12 radio stations since January 21.

CDAC (Communications with Disaster Affected Communities ) has been working to improve communications with the disaster survivors. This is an inter-agency working group comprising Thomson Reuters Foundation, Internews, BBC World Service Trust, the Red Cross, Save the Children, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and others.

The whole world is rallying around the disaster survivors. BRAVO! But why does it take a disaster to bring us together? Shouldn’t we be helping our fellow humans anyway? What’s your take?