Proposed 'textalyzer' could test if you used your phone while driving

(Photo: LM Otero, AP)

Looks like the Breathalyzer could get a new partner on the road.

Recently, new legislation presented in New York proposed that drivers there would need to present their mobile devices to police if the driver is believed to have been distracted by them while behind the wheel.

According to ArsTechnica, the new device, called a “textalyzer,” which the website says is being developed by Cellebrite, could check to see if the driver was handling a phone during the time leading up to the accident, allegedly without interfering with a driver’s personal information.

Cellebrite, by the way, was rumored to be the outside company used by the FBI to hack into an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists, USA TODAY reports, a rumor that FBI Director James Comey said was false.

The bipartisan legislation, currently in committee, would require that if a driver refuses to present their mobile device to police for testing, they would run the risk of losing their license. It was introduced by Sen. Terrence Murphy (R-Westchester) and Assembly Assistant Speaker Felix Ortiz (D-Kings), who worked on it with Distracted Operators Risk Casualties (DORCs). 

DORCs was co-founded by Ben Lieberman, whose 19-year-old son, Evan, died in a 2011 collision caused by a distracted driver. The new law is known as “Evan’s Law.”

Moral of the story: Don’t use your phone while you drive.