Free App Stops Texting While Driving

In the habit of whipping off a few texts and emails while driving? Then know that 23% of all US motor vehicle accidents, or 1.3 million crashes annually, are caused by cell phone talking and texting—and know that there's a free app to stop you. Called iZup Lite, it blocks all texting, tweeting, and emailing while driving. And it works automatically, using a GPS satellite to gauge your speed, the Boston Herald reports.

Available for Android smartphones and soon for Blackberries, the app is similar to the original iZup, which costs about $20 a year and also blocks phone calls. iZup is "doing extremely well with fleets and enterprises,” said the CEO of Needham, which launched both apps. “We have distributed iZup in the many thousands of licenses.” One other benefit of iZup: It keeps you from doing something that's illegal in 35 states. (More driving while texting stories.)