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posted by cmn32480 on Friday January 06 2017, @01:47PM   Printer-friendly
from the shut-up-and-drive dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

According to the latest figures available, US highway deaths increased by more than 10 percent year-over-year during the first half of 2016. One big reason? Distracted driving with mobile phones. It's a reality that now has one phone-maker in some unusual legal crosshairs.

Apple, maker of the ever-popular iPhone, is being sued on allegations that its FaceTime app contributed to the highway death of a 5-year-old girl named Moriah Modisette. In Denton County, Texas, on Christmas Eve 2014, a man smashed into the Modisette family's Toyota Camry as it stopped in traffic on southbound Interstate 35W. Police say that the driver was using the FaceTime application and never saw the brake lights ahead of him. In addition to the tragedy, father James, mother Bethany, and daughter Isabella all suffered non-fatal injuries during the crash two years ago.

The Modisette family now wants Apple to pay damages for the mishap. The family alleges the Cupertino, California-based technology company had a duty to warn motorists against using the app and that it could have used patented technology to prohibit drivers from utilizing the app. According to the suit (PDF) filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court:

Plaintiffs allege APPLE, INC.'s failure to design, manufacture, and sell the Apple iPhone 6 Plus with the patented, safer alternative design technology already available to it that would automatically lock-out or block users from utilizing APPLE, INC.'s 'FaceTime' application while driving a motor vehicle at highway speed, and failure to warn users that the product was likely to be dangerous when used or misused in a reasonably foreseeable manner and/or instruct on the safe usage of this and similar applications, rendered the Apple iPhone 6 defective when it left defendant APPLE, INC's possession, and were a substantial factor in causing plaintiffs' injuries and decedent's death.

The patent referenced, issued by the US patent office in April 2014, is designed to provide a "lock-out mechanism" to prevent iPhone use by drivers. The patent claims a "motion analyzer" and a "scenery analyzer" help prevent phone use. The reliability of such lock-out services, however, has come into question.

"The motion analyzer can detect whether the handheld computing device is in motion beyond a predetermined threshold level. The scenery analyzer can determine whether a holder of handheld computing device is located within a safe operating area of a vehicle. And the lock-out mechanism can disable one or more functions of the handheld computing device based on output of the motion analyzer, and enable the one or more functions based on output of the scenery analyzer," according to the patent.

Apple has not commented on the lawsuit, but it has said that drivers are responsible for their behavior.


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 1) by LT218 on Friday January 06 2017, @06:26PM

    by LT218 (5345) on Friday January 06 2017, @06:26PM (#450337)

    How does said technology differentiate between a passenger and a driver? GPS readings would be the same for both. Speed of changing scenery would be the same, etc. Even if they implemented some basic checks, history would seem to indicate that there will always be people who try to cheat the system and will find a way to bypass or even disable such mechanisms.

    At the end of the day, mobile devices are tools and just like any other tool, they can be used appropriately or inappropriately. The onus for using any tool safely and responsibly is always (or at least should always) be on the person using the tool. The user decides how they use the device, not the manufacturer. A baseball bat is a tool that can be used for a variety of purposes. Most people have enough sense to not grab one and swing it around in a crowded room. The same logic should apply to mobile devices, automobiles and roadways but for some reason, it often does not.

    Distracted driving is a people problem, not a device or technology problem. People in general seem to have forgotten that operating a 4000 lb+ killing machine at speeds that regularly exceed 50 MPH is a serious responsibility and needs treated as such.