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A SMART assistant is being developed to help drivers cope with the increasing number of electronic devices in cars. When complete, the assistant will decide when it is too dangerous for a driver to be disturbed, and will divert phone calls to voicemail, hide arriving emails and lock the controls of the satellite navigation system and CD player.

A clutch of accidents has been blamed on the workload that in-car devices can place on drivers, and this week the UK became the latest country to ban the use of hand-held cellphones by drivers. Portugal and some other countries have even…

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