Inspiration struck Sean Brown after a car almost did.

He was sitting in traffic in front of Northeast High School and a teenager on his cell phone nearly rear-ended him.

So he decided to observe the drivers leaving the Pasadena high school.

"Eleven cars came out and nine of (the drivers) were on their cell phone," he said. "That's got to be controlled."

The Curtis Bay resident figured there had to be a device that could prevent cell phones from being used in moving cars without impeding normal operations. Brown called up his previous boss, who has been involved in new technology startups...