August 2, 2004
Driver-to-Driver SMS
You're in a hurry to get out of the carpark, but some double-parking so-and-so has blocked your way with his car, and there's no way for you to contact him.
Not anymore.
Malaysian content provider Worldwide SMS Network is offering vehicle owners a way to communicate anonymously with each other using a unique messaging service known as Driver-to-Driver SMS, reports the Star.
“The service allows vehicle owners to send text messages to one another via their mobile phones, using their vehicle registration numbers,” said Manjit Singh, Worldwide SMS Network Link managing director.
“If a driver wants to tell another driver to move his car, all he has to do is type ‘D WAA888 your car is blocking mine. Please move it' and send it to 39888. He doesn't need to know the name or mobile number of the other driver,” he claimed."
According to the 28-year-old former telecommunications engineer, Driver-to-Driver SMS can also come in handy in other instances.
“For example, you can use it to inform other drivers if their rear lights are defective, to find out the cause of a traffic jam, to warn a driver that someone is trying to break into his car, or even to make friends,” he told In.Tech last week.
The big drawback to the service is that both sender and recipient must be registered with the service, which gives Worldwide SMS Network Link a helluva big first hurdle -- a critical mass is needed before the service can really be useful. "
A similar service was launched for... flirting. In Australia, in 2001, a service called Driver SMS (no longer online), enabled drivers to register their license plates and cell phone numbers. If they later spotted someone cute in another car, they could enter his/her drivers' plate number on the Driver SMS website - and if the person was registered there too, they could send him/her an SMS, expressing their, uh, interest. cf la Chronique SMS du 23.10.01 (in French)
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