Federal transportation officials have postponed the release of "UnSafe2Drive", a free downloadable cell phone app which would allow drivers to notify highway patrol officers of hazardous road conditions and accidents via text message.
An advertising campaign to raise awareness of the project, which was scheduled to roll out this spring, was postponed indefinitely while several serious concerns regarding its overall safety are evaluated. Preliminary data from several cities in which the program was initially launched has shown that many drivers who chose to text their accounts of highway accidents and unsafe driving conditions to police were subsequently involved in highway accidents themselves.
A cost-benefit analysis of the program is expected to begin this summer. In the meantime, several "Unsafe2Drive" billboards, showing a concerned driver driving past an accident while texting an alert to police, have been scheduled for removal.
