WIRELESS WATCH
Driving While Dialing On the Rise Says NHSTA - Americans are talking on their cell phones even more today than before, noted a recent survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Despite warning from traffic safety experts, state and local laws prohibiting the practice, and the increased availability of hands-free units, the use of hand-held cell phones by drivers increased by 1% in 2005. According to the agency, 974,000 vehicles on the road at any given time are being driven by someone using a hand-held phone. Furthermore, the survey found that 0.2% of drivers were dialing phones, checking PDA’s, or otherwise manipulating a hand-held electronic device while driving in 2005. The frequency of drivers using hand-held phones was especially pronounced among younger drivers ages 16-24, of whom 10% were found to be driving while holding a phone to their ears. Drivers of SUV's or vans were 1% more likely that drivers of passenger cars and 2% more likely than drivers of pickup trucks to be using a hand-held phone. A study published by the British Medical Journal in July 2005 found that drivers using cell phones were four times as likely to get into a crash that could cause injuries serious enough to land them in the hospital. For more information on the NHSTA study, click here.
SOUND OFF: Do you call and drive? Do you think the law should limit talking and driving? E-mail us at trac@trac.org with your thoughts.
TRAC AND YOU
Save Money By Sending Text Messages To Cell Phones From Your PC - We received the following question all the way from Argentina this week:
"I'd like to know if I could send text messages through my computer to a cell phone in the USA. I'm from Argentina and my boyfriend is there in Colorado. Please let me know what I can do to send him text messages on line."
Thanks for the question! The answer is generally YES! – with some caveats.
Note that if you are using the Web from overseas, you may not reach the U.S. version of a carrier's website by default. What follows are the directions for sending a text message from a PC to wireless phone based on the major carriers’ domestic (U.S.) web sites. You may have to do some extra clicking on the carriers' website to get to the American version of their site. You should also keep in mind that your boyfriend may incur a charge for receiving and sending text messages depending on his plan. Also, depending on his carrier, he may be charged extra to reply to text messages sent from an overseas wireless phone. Your best bet is to list your e-mail address as the reply-to address to avoid these extra charges. Wireless phones that are less than three years old should be able to reply directly from their phones to an e-mail address. Here is how to send messages from a PC to subscribers of the four major American wireless carriers:
- Cingular – Go to www.cingular.com and click on the "Send a Text Message" link at the top of the page. At the following page, Web users type in the wireless number of the subscriber they are trying to text along with the message (up to 160 characters) they wish to send. Click here to access the page directly. Note: Users who want to send messages to ex-AT&T Wireless subscribers should click here.
- Sprint/Nextel – Visit www.sprint.com and find the "Send a Text Message" information (3/4 of the way down the page). Choose whether the subscriber is a Sprint or Nextel subscriber from the drop-down menu and follow the instructions.
- T-Mobile – To get to T-Mobile’s online text messaging service, click here. Follow the instructions to send a message of up to 140 characters. T-Mobile also includes a handy texting shorthand guide on the page.
- Verizon Wireless –Verizon Wireless’s texting page is available by clicking here. Instructions on how to send a message of up to 160 characters to any Verizon Wireless subscriber are included. There is even a neat service called "Spk n’ TXT" that automatically turns normally written messages into "text language." For example, typing in "Hi, how are you today?" produces "Hi, how R U 2DAY?" with "Spk n’ TXT."
Users of popular instant messaging service such as AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo! IM you can also send messages to wireless phones. See the links below for instructions on how to do this:
TRAC IN THE NEWS
Use PrePaid Phones To Budget Text Message Costs, Says TRAC – A good way for parents of teens with out-of-control text messaging habits to control costs is to switch to a prepaid phone instead of a post-paid phone, said TRAC in last Friday’s edition of the Sacramento Bee. "One of the things about prepaid phones is it allows you to budget a little easier, 'cause once you've used all the minutes, you're done," noted the article, quoting TRAC research associate John Breyault. To read the full article, click here (free registration required).
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page: http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions: http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
What do you think? Got a tip you want to share? Nominate your "Scam of the Week" and your "Tip of the Week" - If we select your submission, we'll give you a one-year free membership in TRAC and acknowledge your contribution by name in TRACNotes. Send an e-mail to trac@trac.org to submit your ideas!
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©2005 Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC grants unlimited rights to reproduce TRACNotes or any information contained in it provided attribution is given as follows: "Source: Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org"
