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3 On Your Side: DriveSafe.ly

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (CBS) -- We all know it's unsafe and even illegal to use a hand-held cell phone while driving.

And it's especially dangerous to read texts and e-mails.

A new mobile application just for drivers promises to keep you informed at all times, and you don't have to touch your hand-held device.

Susan Barnett and 3 On Your Side report on how this new app works.

You're driving in the car and here comes that text message or e-mail.

It can be irresistible to pick up the phone and check it out.

But that's illegal to do in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware.

So one company says it has created a hands-free solution to getting e-mails and texts.

It's a new mobile application called DriveSafe.ly.

A voice reads e-mails and text messages out loud and in real time without drivers ever touching their cell phone.

The company calls it the "App to stop distracted driving".

Businessman Barry Baker gets more than 300 e-mails daily.

"It certainly breaks the urge to go read the BlackBerry when you should be focusing on the road," says Barry who uses DriveSafe.ly.

Dario Salvucci is not so sure about that.

The Drexel University professor has done studies on distracted driving.

"If you are hearing something that's very engaging, cognitively speaking, then that's going to take your brain away from the driving task," said Salvucci.

Watch the video...

And then there's temptation.

"I would wonder how strong that impulse is to respond to these texts," Salvucci said. "Probably a lot of times you would like to respond as quickly as possible."

The app does fire off an automatic reply to the sender letting them know the message was received and that the recipient will get back to them soon.

A spokesperson for DriveSafe.ly tells us the mobile app is available on BlackBerry and Android phones.

For more on DriveSafe.ly, visit http://www.drivesafe.ly.

Reported by Susan Barnett, CBS3

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