Car And Driver And Chrysler Announce Txt U L8r

Car and Driver announced the launch of Txt U L8r, a free mobile application for handheld devices created to combat the dangers of texting while driving. Sponsored by the Chrysler brand and developed by iSpeech®, Txt U L8r automatically responds to text messages without forcing drivers to take their eyes off the road or their hands off the wheel. The application is currently available for Blackberry and Android phones.

When Txt U L8r is running on a driver's handheld device, the application sends a predetermined message back to the sender with an alert that the user is unavailable. At the same time, the received message is read aloud to the driver, ensuring they do not miss any urgent messages. A paid upgrade of the application is available which allows the driver to respond back to messages with voice commands.

The development of Txt U L8r was prompted by a Car and Driver Texting While Driving Study that showed driver reaction times while texting were much worse compared to drunk driver reaction times. The study demonstrated the time it takes to hit the brakes when sober, when legally drunk, when reading an email, and when sending a text.

Following are the results of the Car and Driver Texting While Driving study:

When unimpaired, it took drivers an average of .54 seconds to brake.
When legally drunk, it took an additional four feet to brake.
When reading an email, it required an additional 36 feet to bring the car to a stop.
When sending a text, another 70 feet was required to brake.