Here’s a pretty astounding fact based on a recent Pew Research study: 40% of all American teens claim to have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger, which is a very official way of saying 40 PERCENT of teens nearly got into an accident or actually got into an accident because the driver was dicking around with their phone.
Listen, we’ve ALL been guilty of doing this at least once. Whether you’re finishing up the final words of a text or responding with a quick “OK” to someone, we’ve all done it and we all know it’s stupid.
Now enter 20-year-old T.J. Evarts, inventor of the “Smart Wheel,” a $199 product created to fit over the steering wheel in order to track whether or not the driver has two hands on the wheel at all times.
While many of us almost never drive with two hands on the wheel — gotta put out the viiiiiibe, man — the Smart Wheel also watches for “adjacent hands,” a term used to describe when the driver holds their hands closely together at the top of the wheel in an effort to both steer the ship and type away with their thumbs about important stuff, like whether or not Dez caught it.
Now that’s pretty damn genius.
It really shouldn’t take spending $200 on a steering wheel cover to prevent people from doing stupid shit, but if that’s what it takes, then so be it.
[H/T Mashable]