Texting while driving - now there's a heated topic. And for good reason! Some reports suggest that a texting driver is 23x more likely to get into a wreck than a non-texting driver. Yet, despite those alarming statistics, over 1/3 of those behind a wheel have sent or received texts, and 18% said they do it regularly. Enter RIM, the once glourious, now flaming maker of BlackBerry.
In 2009 RIM (Research In Motion) applied for a patent that would try to prevent users from texting while driving. A noble idea and potentially profitable one until you hear how its supposed to work. RIM's idea was that anyone travelling within a certain range of speed would be required to answer a challenge-response test in the form of a CAPTCHA in order to be able to send a message. This means that to override the lock preventing drivers from texting, you need to type out a word, presumably while still driving.
While RIM is, optimistically, assuming that drivers will hand their phone to a passenger to answer skill testing questions, the idea of needing to type text in order to text seems rather, well, absurd.
Other sources
If someone has the intention to send a text or email or other message while they're driving, a CAPTCHA won't stop them- Michelle Haag