BlackBerry outage cut accident rate by 40%
During a 2011 BlackBerry 3-day data outage, road accident rates dropped 40%, illustrating the massive safety cost of distracted driving from phones.
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Explore episode
Jul 13, 2026
Where this was said
EU Driver Eye-Tracking Mandate: Legislation Theater at Its Finest
At 1:11:50 · chapter starts 1:09:09
Peter presents the EU's Advanced Driver Distraction Warning System: from July 7, 2026, every new car and van sold in the EU must include an infrared camera pointed at the driver's face, tracking eyes, head, and gaze in real time. Glancing away for more than 3.5 seconds above 31 mph triggers escalating alerts. Brussels projects 25,000 lives saved by 2038. The mandate comes to the US by 2027. Salim Ismail delivers a multilayered rant: first, a 2011 BlackBerry outage proved that simply removing phones cut accident rates 40%, meaning the real solution was obvious 15 years ago. Second, by 2038 full self-driving will have made this entire system redundant — building it now is pure waste. Third, the same monitoring technology will inevitably be monetized and sold to third parties as spyware. Dave Blundin adds that government regulatory frameworks invented in 1776 are simply breaking in the face of accelerating technology, citing the FTC, FAA, and SEC as 18th-century patches that kept things running for another century but won't survive the singularity [1] — Salim Ismail "The EU just mandated infrared eye-tracking cameras in every new car — aiming to save 25,000 lives by 2038. The problem: by 2038 full self-d…" 1:09:09 [2] — Salim Ismail "BlackBerry outage cut accident rate by 40%: During a 2011 BlackBerry 3-day data outage, road accident rates dropped 40%, illustrating the m…" 1:11:50 .
EU mandates eye-tracking in all new cars by July 2026
As of July 7th, every new car and van sold in the EU must have an infrared camera monitoring the driver's eyes and gaze in real time.
The EU Mandated Eye Tracking in Cars on the Eve of Full Self-Driving
The EU just mandated infrared eye-tracking cameras in every new car — aiming to save 25,000 lives by 2038. The problem: by 2038 full self-driving will have made this entirely redundant. A 2011 BlackBerry outage proved that simply removing phones from the equation cut accident rates by 40%. This is legislation theater at its worst.
EU eye-tracking law projected to save 25,000 lives by 2038
Brussels projects the mandatory driver monitoring system will save 25,000 lives by 2038, a figure Salim Ismail dismissed as far too small given the availability of full self-driving technology.
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