On September 12, 2008 a Metrolink train driver in Chatsworth CA missed a red light while sending 43 text messages and crashed the train killing 25 commuters on board. When this fact was discovered Los Angeles County Metro Rail administrators contacted Enterprise Electronics (NSTN Affiliate) requesting that we invent a mobile transit type of cell phone detector and alerting system for their commuter trains. We designed and installed the first one but that is the beginning of the story.
Cell phone detection was not new to our company; as far back as 1998 we were designing and deploying detectors into cellphone restricted areas (corporate boardrooms, prisons, etc.) to prevent their use. When one of our existing customers wanted us to make a special unit we created both detector and alerting method for their commuter trains attaching the trigger signal to their radio to alert the dispatcher so the date and time could be recorded.
In 2018 the patent for this line of products was granted, so NSTN now offers to new commuter rail and other transit authorities, contractors allowing employees use of their company vehicles and more specifically to detect improper and often illegal cell phone use.
The software back-office reporting and logging engine was designed and built by NSTN President Mary Hanawalt and now includes GPS location targeting, the alerting engine (email tree, etc.) to report any issue to proper personnel along with logging, archiving and reporting monthly to authorities by request.
