Apparatus and method for vehicle interior zone-based prevention of a dangerous user behavior with a mobile communication device

An apparatus for vehicle interior zone-based prevention of a dangerous user behavior with a mobile communication device, the apparatus comprising:

• an RFID tag embedded in a vehicle's interior space, wherein a tag readable range of the RFID tag defines a driving lock zone in the vehicle's interior space;
• an integrated RFID tag reader in the mobile communication device, wherein the integrated RFID tag reader is configured to interrogate, read from, or write to a non-volatile memory storage unit inside the RFID tag;
• a CPU connected to the integrated RFID tag reader inside a casing of the mobile communication device;
• a memory unit connected to the CPU and also operatively connected to the integrated RFID tag reader;
• and
• a software program executed on the CPU and the memory unit of the mobile communication device, wherein the software program generates a user safety feature list menu for prevention of dangerous user behavior on a touch screen, wherein the user safety feature list menu comprises a driving lock on and off switch, a location tracking and driving lock mixed-mode switch, and a “driving lock options” sub-menu incorporating at least one of a “disable typing function” switch, a “disable web browser” switch, and a “disable camera” switch, and wherein the software program also retrieves a code from the RFID tag utilizing the integrated RFID tag reader, and then compares the code against a known set of information separately accessible by the mobile communication device to determine whether the code from the RFID tag represents the driving lock zone for the mobile communication device;
• when the code retrieved from the RFID tag indicates that the code is representing the driving lock zone and when the vehicle is moving while the location tracking and driving lock mixed-mode switch is engaged, the software program disables at least one of a typing function, a web browser, and a camera on the mobile communication device in accordance with a user setting in the “driving lock options” sub-menu provided by the software program executed on the CPU and the memory unit of the mobile communication device;
• else when the code retrieved from the RFID tag indicates that the code is representing the driving lock zone, but the vehicle is stationary while the location tracking and driving lock mixed-mode switch is engaged, the software program enables all of the typing function, the web browser, and the camera on the mobile communication device;
• else when the code retrieved from the RFID tag indicates that the code is representing the driving lock zone while the location tracking and driving lock mixed-mode switch is disengaged, the software program disables at least one of the typing function, the web browser, and the camera on the mobile communication device in accordance with the user setting in the “driving lock options” sub-menu;
• and
• else when the code retrieved from the RFID tag indicates something other than the driving lock zone, the software program maintains or activates all of the typing function, the web browser, and the camera on the mobile communication device.