The majority of states have adopted laws against texting while driving, but I just read an editorial saying that few of the laws are being enforced. Now legislators and the public want insurance companies to know who is using a cell phone while operating a vehicle and let that drive rates. Some are even calling for cell phone surveillance and cell phone tracking.
With all the cell phone forensics we do here at International Investigations, we know the technology is there to accomplish this. However it would not be a mobile spy like we are used to uncovering in our mobile phone forensic analysis process. No, it would be a cell phone deactivation device installed in the vehicle. And according to the survey, the public would like to see a rate discount for those who install it.
Right now, with wireless forensics, investigators and law enforcement can use forensic cell tower evidence and cell phone tracking to provide forensic cellular evidence to show the movements of a user. If mobile phones are deactivated in vehicles, the possibility of providing such evidence may be altered – or gone.
For example, one case we had we were able to track the exact route a cell phone user had taken through his cellphone records. It proved he was not in the location at the time the crime he was accused of perpetrating had happened. His mobile device became a cellphone witness on his behalf.
We aren’t saying that deactivating cell phones while driving is a bad thing. No, we have been involved with enough cases proving that the user was texting at the time of an accident to know how deadly it can be. However, using cell tower location and cell tower triangulation as an investigative tool is valuable and we’d like to preserve that tool.
-Brenda McGinley, CEO, All in Investigations, All in Investigations
