“Textalyzer” Device Targets Distracted Driving

Cellebrite Ltd., an Israeli-based forensics software company, has developed a technology it says can determine whether a motorist involved in an accident was using his or her cell phone at the time of the incident.

The roadside device, nicknamed the “textalyzer,” promises to help police determine if a driver involved in an accident was distracted. The system wouldn’t access the content of the phone’s text messages or other personal information, according to the developers.

The technology would support proposed legislation in New York that would allow police at the scene of an accident to field-test a driver’s phone with an “electronic scanning device.” Under the proposal, drivers who refuse to comply with the law would have their license suspended and possibly revoked.

If the legislation is passed, companies such as Cellebrite would bid to supply the enabling technology. It is unclear how password-protected devices would be accessed.

Cellebrite previously has said it has the capability to completely wipe all content from a phone. It also has been rumored that the company helped the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation hack into the encrypted iPhones of the alleged perpetrators of the recent killings in San Bernardino, Calif.

Distracted driving is a contributing factor to nine deaths and nearly 1,200 injuries every day on U.S. roads, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pending New York bill is dubbed "Evan's Law" in memory of 19-year-old Evan Lieberman, who was killed in 2011 by a distracted driver in New York. Evan’s father, Ben Lieberman, is one of the co-founders of the Distracted Operators Risk Casualties public awareness group, which is championing the law.