Inventor's 'Lego driving simulator' shows dangers of cellphone use

WINCHESTER, England, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- A British inventor used Lego pieces to create a "driving simulator" to illustrate the potential dangers of using a cellphone behind the wheel.

Simon Burfield, whose website describes him as "an IOS Developer by day and Lego robot builder by night," posted a video to YouTube showing the "driving simulator" he built using Lego Mindstorms materials and his cellphone.

The simulator is composed of a steering wheel that moves a "truck" from side to side to dodge obstacles on a moving Lego track that gets faster over time.

"This is to show people that using a mobile phone while driving is bad," Burfield says in the video.

Burfield's phone receives a call from his "mum" while he is controlling the truck, taking his attention away from the apparatus and causing the simulated vehicle to collide with a wall of Lego bricks.

"And that's a demonstration of what happens when you drive and use your phone," Burfield says.