Cops may use ‘textalyzer’ to bust drivers using phones

ALBANY, N.Y. — Police in New York state may soon have a high-tech way of catching texting drivers: a device known as a “textalyzer” that allows an officer to quickly check if a phone has been in use before a crash.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday directed the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee to examine the technology, as well as the questions about privacy and civil liberties its use would raise.

“Despite laws to ban cell phone use while driving, some motorists still continue to insist on texting behind the wheel — placing themselves and others at substantial risk,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This review will examine the effectiveness of using this new emerging technology to crack down on this reckless behavior and thoroughly evaluate its implications to ensure we protect the safety and privacy of New Yorkers.”

The device is called the “textalyzer” because of its similarity to the Breathalyzer, which is used to identify drunken drivers. Once plugged into a person’s phone for about a minute, it will indicate whether a motorist was texting, emailing, surfing the Web or otherwise using his or her cell phone before a serious crash. The textalyzer would not access actual information on the phone, such as pictures, personal emails or Web browsing history.

The “textalyzer” is still some months away from being ready, according to Cellebrite, the Israel-based tech company developing the device.

Digital privacy and civil liberties groups already have questioned whether the technology’s use would violate personal privacy, noting that police can already obtain search warrants if they believe information on a private phone could be useful in a prosecution.

Many security experts are skeptical when it comes to promises that the textalyzer would only access information about phone usage, and not personal material, according to Rainey Reitman, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for civil liberties when it comes to digital technology.

Twelve people were killed and 2,784 were injured in cellphone-related crashes in New York state from 2011-2015, according to figures from the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research.