CTIA in Brief: Sprint working on lock-down app for teen drivers

Orlando--Although more than 30 states have made it illegal to text while driving, as long as that phone is there on the dashboard or passenger seat it’s going to represent a temptation for many drivers.

To combat that, Sprint plans to release an Android app later this year that will allow parents to set it to shut down a mobile device whenever the phone is in a car moving faster than 10 miles an hour. The idea is to remove the temptation to use a phone when the car is in use, the mere threat of which greatly limits unsafe driving, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said in his keynote speech at CTIA this morning.

Hesse didn’t address the fact that smartphones today are often used as GPS devices, but it’s likely the app has a “route-around” for such uses.

Hesse detailed several other safe driving efforts from the operator, including a partnership with Chrysler and another app that can track – via G-force measurements – when a person is driving dangerously.

“My son turns 16 in March, he doesn’t want one but he’s going to get one,” Hesse said.