CellCoach - Keeping your kid off the phone while driving...

This little bugger is the CellCoach, a product which more resembles doggie shock collars than anything appropriate for humans (and with a website that's more early-90's than late-2000's). It aims to keep kids off their phones while they're driving, by installing under the car's dashboard and emitting an annoying and loud BEEPing sound whenever cellphone signals are detected. While cruel, it just might be effective - but it's got some problems, too. With no provision to allow talking when the car is stopped, the poor kid can't even pull off the road or park to take an important call. I'm also worried about the ability of the device to distinguish the driver's call from a passenger's call (which should be kosher), or even a call happening in the next car over. Finally, this is a technological lockout that parents are supposed to impose on their children - and it's rare that any parent these days is more tech-savvy than their teenager. I'd give the average 16-year-old about 5 minutes to have this thing hacked and useless. And you know what? I'd be rooting for the kid...
[via NewsWireToday, Textually, ShinyShiny, and Gizmodo]