I'll be honest--I'm not completely innocent of all texting and driving charges. I know it's a bad thing to do and causes more deaths and disfigurements than automotive phone calls. I know that, and yet I find myself replying to texts while behind the wheel of my car anyway. It's a stupid thing to do, even if I do my best to restrict myself to only typing when stopped at a red light. But a fair number of my friends who drive do the same thing, some without even hesitation or guilt. There's a reason those PSAs about texting while driving are up everywhere--it's actually super dangerous to have your eyes on your tiny phone screen while propelling an enormous machine forward at forty miles per hour. It makes sense hypothetically, and yet most of us can't put down our phones even for the time it takes to get from point A to point B.

Scosche has one solution to ease this widespread addiction to the SMS while in the car. They've developed cellCONTROL, a Bluetooth device that will actually shut down the parts of your phone that you might be tempted to use while driving. Plug a little black doohickey into your car, connect to it with your phone, and enjoy a text-free ride. The gadget will prevent you from opening up any apps that allow you to communicate with the outside world. No text messaging, no email, no Twitter, no Facebook. You're shut off until the engine is. 

While a neat idea in theory, the cellCONTROL runs a little steep for an artificial self-control simulator. You could pay $130 for a black box that shuts down your cell output...or you could just train yourself not to look at your phone while you're driving. I can't imagine most adults would want to purchase one for themselves, but I can see why it would come in handy for some parents worried about the driving habits of their teen kids. If you don't think your daughter can be trusted not to text behind the wheel and you'd rather not find out the hard way whether she is or not, why not install a jammer to ensure she can't even if she tries? Make sure to tell her beforehand that that's what you're doing, though, lest the confusion of being unable to send SMS send her flying into the midst of a busy intersection.