Even though the Missoula "no texting while driving" law has been in effect since July of 2009, frankly it's making our roads even more dangerous than ever before. Problem is, when that phone starts buzzing in the passenger seat, the temptation is just to great. We HAVE to see who is texting. Even if we are in bumper to bumper traffic on Reserve street we are replying to that person on your lap, hiding the phone from any on-lookers. This here seems to be the cause for more accidents than ever before in our city.

According to KGVO News Talk Senator Anders Blewett says texting while driving is more dangerous than driving under the influence. Scary, huh? As a result, the Montana Senate has voted down a bill making it a crime to text while driving.

It took me a few stupid close calls for me to realize that answering a text in traffic isn't nearly as important as coming home in one piece to my family.This is why I recently signed the Zoo FM "TXTNG KILLS" campaign and am proudly wearing the reminding thumb band that I received after signing this life saving promise. In the coming weeks I'll be showing our listeners how to sign the pledge as well. Stay tuned.

That's is also one of the reasons why I researched a few options of being able to multi-task on the road while still keeping your eyes on it. Here's what I found:

DriveSafe.Ly

This is a fantastic phone app that allows you to drive and text with ease. According to their website "DriveSafe.ly is a mobile application that reads text (SMS) messages and emails aloud in real time and automatically responds without drivers touching the mobile phone." I love it. It senses when you are driving and automatically disables hands on capability only to replace it with voice activated controls.

Safe Texting Campaign app

This one is a bit more hardcore and probably the safest alternative of all. This app shuts down texting all together when it senses you are driving. Sign up for this free app here.

Vlingo

My favorite app of all. This does more than just read incoming text messages, it also allows you to text back with your voice similar to DriveSafe.ly but also allows you to send Tweets and Facebook updates with just your voice. That's just for starters. I love it and use it practically every day.

Those are just a few I'd recommend. You could find a ton more here. Unfortunately, we've yet to see a Common Sense app in any other the marketplaces, until then these will have to do. Drive Safe!

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