Using technology in road safety
Enforcement is hard , costly and not always effective . So while it ’ s an important part of our approach ( and probably the only thing some people will take seriously ), our thoughts often turn to ways of making people obey the law that don ’ t rely on us always being there to keep an eye on them . This often brings us to technological efforts that can potentially prevent the use of a mobile phone in some way , or can at least educate drivers of the dangers associated with mobile phone use while driving .
Currently , there is no technological alternative to the physical policing of mobile phone use by drivers ( there ’ s no reliable equivalent to the speed camera for catching speeders ), but technology does appeal for various reasons and can help in various ways . Some approaches , such as settings and mobile phone Apps might be described as ‘ self policing ’ - where individuals choose to voluntarily inhibit their own ability to use a mobile phone while driving by activating options such as ‘ do not disturb ’ settings . Others use advances in technology to make our efforts at education more convincing , or use technology to identify drivers that need an instant warning message about their offending .
We shouldn ’ t see ‘ techno-fixes ’ as entirely neutral solutions to social problems . Plenty of research has considered how some technologies ( that worked perfectly well in the laboratory ) have unintended and unexpected consequences when let loose on humans ¹! It ’ s also likely that people will work out ways to ‘ get around ’ technologies that restrict them - especially if they don ’ t see them as necessary in the first place ².
Case studies within this section will show how technology has been used as an educational or awareness raising tool to remind individuals that they should not use their mobile phone while driving and the consequences where they do , as well as how the the functionality of the mobile phone itself can actually limit temptation .
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¹ Wells , H ( 2008 ) The Techno-Fix versus the Fair Cop : Procedural ( in ) justice and automated speed limit enforcement . British Journal of Criminology , vol . 48 ( 6 ), 798-817
² Wells , H ( 2015 ) Getting Around and Getting On : Self-Interested Resistance to Technology in Law Enforcement Contexts . Annual Review of Law and Social Science , Vol 11 , vol . 11 , 175-192