The vehicle safety system selectively deactivates a driver's cellular telephone when the driver is ready to drive his or her vehicle. The vehicle safety system first determines the proximity between the cellular telephone and the driver's seat of the vehicle. An identification tag is mounted on or in the vicinity of the driver's seat. The identification tag is sensed by a sensor to determine proximity. A gear state of the vehicle is then determined and transmitted to a call authorization module associated with the cellular telephone. The sensor for sensing the identification tag is also associated with the call authorization module. The call authorization module selectively deactivates the cellular telephone when the cellular telephone is located within a pre-set range from the driver's seat of the vehicle and the gear state of the vehicle is such that the vehicle may be driven under power.
