Location Labs has developed the first carrier-grade service to prevent cell phone use while driving.

DriveSmart is designed specifically for T-Mobile Android smartphones. For now, it’s only available for download onto the LG Optimus T, but it’s expected to be on more phones soon.

The application automatically detects when a user may be driving and sets the phone into “Driving Mode,” sending incoming calls directly to voicemail and preventing access to text messages.

DriveSmart can be overridden for emergencies or if the user is a passenger.

The service costs $4.99 a month.

Applications were already available from independent companies that claim to shut down a smartphone when it’s moving quickly. But researchers for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) tested some and said they didn’t work very well.

Sprint, AT&T and Verizon all say they’re also investigating similar blocking services. Sprint says its technology could be ready by the end of this year.

All three companies are also trying to develop technology that can distinguish whether the moving cell phone user it a driver or passenger.

Russ Rader, a spokesman for IIHS said a corporation could install this technology across an employee base or among fleet drivers.

If this technology is proven to work reliably, do you think employers should install it on company-issued cell phones? Let us know what you think in the Comments Box below.

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