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Ah, you made a clear case, car defects. However, that is not the same thing as reckless driving. As you said, cars are not lethal by design, yet they can turn lethal under reckless usage. However, it should be the person executing such poor judgement the one to be held accountable.
Sure, which is why have said I think the suit against Apple is absurd.
 
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Glad common sense prevailed in this case -- but what about the fact that cars are being sold with larger and larger touchscreens in the middle of the dashboard? How is all that crap not distracting? And what happened to, you know, just driving your frickin' car and watching the road?

Seriously, I can't wait for self-driving cars because at least we know they won't be zoning out on their screens half the time.
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Is this why the stupid thing won't allow me to search the web using SIRI while driving? Phone is connected via bluetooth I'm just pressing steering wheel control to activate SIRI and asking the dumb thing a question but it barks back "I'm sorry but I can't search the web while you are driving". So now I have to pickup the phone and accomplish that task. Like it's safe to do that instead while driving. Who came up with this dumb idea? I can understand the FaceTime thing but some of the stuff is really stupid and really doesn't help with safety at all.

Mike

It's all distracting, even if your eyes are on the road you're still focusing on some ***** internet search instead of doing your one job, which is DRIVING YOUR CAR SAFELY. Pull the hell over or at least wait for a red light to handle that crap.
 
Glad common sense prevailed in this case -- but what about the fact that cars are being sold with larger and larger touchscreens in the middle of the dashboard? How is all that crap not distracting? And what happened to, you know, just driving your frickin' car and watching the road?

Seriously, I can't wait for self-driving cars because at least we know they won't be zoning out on their screens half the time.
[doublepost=1545157081][/doublepost]

It's all distracting, even if your eyes are on the road you're still focusing on some ***** internet search instead of doing your one job, which is DRIVING YOUR CAR SAFELY. Pull the hell over or at least wait for a red light to handle that crap.
If you think talking while driving is distracting then you should not be allowed to drive.
 
If you think talking while driving is distracting then you should not be allowed to drive.

This is a classic example of how risk is incorrectly assessed; because something bad has not happened when we do something repeatedly people assume it is low risk. As a result, people engage in risky behaviors without realizing how risky it may be. Feynman covered it well in his appendix to the Rogers Commission report.

As for talking while driving:

https://www.upi.com/Talking-while-d...r-threatens-road-safety-review/5411520710885/
 
This is a classic example of how risk is incorrectly assessed; because something bad has not happened when we do something repeatedly people assume it is low risk. As a result, people engage in risky behaviors without realizing how risky it may be. Feynman covered it well in his appendix to the Rogers Commission report.

As for talking while driving:

https://www.upi.com/Talking-while-d...r-threatens-road-safety-review/5411520710885/
Next time you fly on a passenger plane, be aware of the fact that the pilots are distracted too because they have to talk with each other and talk with the ATC while monitoring their instruments.

I also should have told my drivers instructor not to talk to me during my road exam because it could be distracting.

Moral of the story is; most people lack basic skill and concentration and cannot perform more than one task simultaneously.

This is not underestimating or wrongly assessing the risk, it is having the required minimum skill and training to be able perform a task, such as driving a car or piloting an airplane without getting distracted so easily.

Unfortunately the minimum skill required to have a driver’s license is so low that most people should not even whistle while they drive, let alone answer a call on hands free.
 
As much as I feel bad for the father who lost his child, selling out your daughter's life to a company with deep pockets for what he probably will see in millions is the worst way to go at it. It was the driver who rear ended you that's at fault, not Apple's. There would be a whole lot of other lawsuits similar to this if Apple was guilty.
 
Under that logic, anything goes once someone experiences significant grief because they are not to be judged by @Dave-Z.
  1. Fixed that for you.
  2. Yes.
  3. Reply to me here when your 5 year old is killed and let me know if you still feel the same way.
 
Next time you fly on a passenger plane, be aware of the fact that the pilots are distracted too because they have to talk with each other and talk with the ATC while monitoring their instruments.

I also should have told my drivers instructor not to talk to me during my road exam because it could be distracting.

Moral of the story is; most people lack basic skill and concentration and cannot perform more than one task simultaneously.

This is not underestimating or wrongly assessing the risk, it is having the required minimum skill and training to be able perform a task, such as driving a car or piloting an airplane without getting distracted so easily.

Unfortunately the minimum skill required to have a driver’s license is so low that most people should not even whistle while they drive, let alone answer a call on hands free.

I disagree, as does a large body of research. First of all, it is well documented that people assume an activity is low risk simply because they have done it multiple times without incident. Most people also assume they are better at things then they really are when it comes to tasks they do frequently.

Certainly some are better at handling multiple tasks but that does not mean it is not more risky, even for them.
As for your pilot example, I refer you to Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 as one example. Why do you think there is a sterile cockpit rule?

Personally, having flown planes and talked with ATC, as well as operated nuclear power plants, I am well aware that people must communicate to properly operate equipment. I've also seen how it can distract and cause errors; even with highly trained personnel.
 
I disagree, as does a large body of research. First of all, it is well documented that people assume an activity is low risk simply because they have done it multiple times without incident. Most people also assume they are better at things then they really are when it comes to tasks they do frequently.

Certainly some are better at handling multiple tasks but that does not mean it is not more risky, even for them.
As for your pilot example, I refer you to Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 as one example. Why do you think there is a sterile cockpit rule?

Personally, having flown planes and talked with ATC, as well as operated nuclear power plants, I am well aware that people must communicate to properly operate equipment. I've also seen how it can distract and cause errors; even with highly trained personnel.
Given the average skill and concentration level of most drivers on the road, I agree with pretty much everything you say. The level of risk is inversely proportional to the amount of training and experience. Therefore a less skilled driver will be at more risk while multiplexing than a highly skilled and trained one.

Personally I am not distracted at all if I carry a conversation while I drive. It also depends on the complexity of the situation. Talking and driving on an empty straight highway in Nevada is not the same thing as driving in a rush hour traffic downtown, or arguing with a passenger sitting next to you.
 
Golly gee whiz? Really? I mean, gosh, could that be because guns are (wait for it to sink in, this is a difficult concept) designed specifically to kill things, whereas phones and cars (another frequent victim of red-herring "arguments" by persons who have fallen for NRA propaganda) are not actually designed specifically as killing machines?


NRA propaganda or the 2nd Amendment? There’s a big difference.
 
Given the average skill and concentration level of most drivers on the road, I agree with pretty much everything you say. The level of risk is inversely proportional to the amount of training and experience. Therefore a less skilled driver will be at more risk while multiplexing than a highly skilled and trained one.

Personally I am not distracted at all if I carry a conversation while I drive. It also depends on the complexity of the situation. Talking and driving on an empty straight highway in Nevada is not the same thing as driving in a rush hour traffic downtown, or arguing with a passenger sitting next to you.

I think we're pretty much in agreement. I agree that skill and training makes a difference. Being distracted on a long straight road with no other traffic is certainly less dangerous than in rush hour in DC or on a windy mountain road.

The main point I think we still disagree on is whether or not talking distracts a driver; my point is that the driver is distracted, although it may or may not have any significant impact on their performance depending on a variety of factors, as you say, including skill, what is being discussed, intensity of the discussion, etc.
 
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You can't be seriously defending that case. Coffee is hot. Everybody who drank coffee once knows that. Like people know that hot plates are hot.

You and the others who rely on this illogical and unfounded argument should take the time and actually learn the facts of the case:

https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts

The TLDR version is this:

  • The lady who was burned did not drink the coffee, she spilled it while trying to remove the lid
  • McDonalds knew that it's coffee, which was served at 180-190 degrees, would cause 3rd degree burns within 3-7 seconds of it being spilled, and elected to continue serving at that temperature (despite the fact that there was no good reason to and 700 people had already been burned and complained to McDonalds).
  • Coffee is not typically served at over 180°, the coffee you are served from Starbucks is generally 145-155°. The ideal temperature for coffee is 105°
  • It takes over 10 minutes for coffee with a lid on it to cool from 190 degrees to 165 degrees, which is still hot enough to cause burns. The 2 minutes cited by some of you would have made no difference here.
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This reminds me the GM ignition switch issue when one of the "victim" was going 75 in a 25 mph residential zone without wearing her seat belt and hit the cul-de-sac all while being underage intoxicated. Still decided to sue GM because her key slipped out of ignition position and deactivated the vehicle's airbags...

The job of the airbags is to protect occupants from accidents, regardless of whether the occupants cause the accident. In fact, just about every car crash is caused by human error, but under your analysis, manufacturers would never be held responsible for defects because the driver triggered the events.

The GM ignition switches were in fact defective and caused 124 deaths. The fact that the driver was drinking underage doesn't mean she deserved to be injured or killed due to a defect in GM's ignition switch.
 
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i have answered facetime while driving but my phone was either on my navigation mount or in my pocket and the audio was routed through Bluetooth so in other words it was no different than answering a phone call with the audio over Bluetooth

which also means a passenger couldn't use my phone to place a call or change the playlist in apple music


the last time i checked coffee was supposed to be served hot

it should be off by default otherwise my wife wouldnt be able to type in an address or change the apple music playlist

no it would be allowing people to not be responsible which is not the direction that should be taken

welcome to the 21st Century

it isnt apples place to do this
as i mentioned above such a feature prevents passengers from using the drivers phone to put an address in maps or change the playlist in apple music

wasnt there such a case

which is why apple was sued here

ive answered facetime while driving but each time my phone was either in my navigation mount or my pocket and the audio was routed through Bluetooth so the end result was no different than answering a call over Bluetooth

Why do you feel the need to use FaceTime instead of a normal phone call? And I would argue a FaceTime call with the phone in your mount is incredibly dangerous and does distract you..
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When you drive, you sit in silence, allowing no other conversation or sound in the car (including among your passengers)? You are able to think of nothing but the road ahead of you, do not see billboards, bumper stickers (or are illiterate so your brain does not automatically read the writing on them). Wow. You are impressive.

Most of us are human, and could not possibly do as you seem to do.

There is no real difference in talking to the person next to you in the car and talking on the phone (which you state is “exactly the same as what the guy who crashed in this article did.”

Actually it’s been proven as scientific fact that talking to a passenger is NOT as distracting as talking on the phone whilst driving, hence why people using phones crash, people talking to passengers do not.
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People are killed by guns. Do you go after gun manufacturers? Better yet, people are killed by choking on chicken bones. Do we need to go after farmers? People are killed by reckless driving due to excess speeds. Do we need to go after and hold car makers liable because they didn't limit the speed in their cars? No. The answer to all these is no.

You don't have any logic in your argument because there is none. Personal responsibility towards others, in this case, starts by not driving distracted while answering a call, sending a text or video chatting. A corporation is not your baby sitter, neither should they be held as one. You should be your own baby sitter.

A gun is a weapon, it is designed to kill, that’s an utterly pointless argument to make.
And a chicken bone? Really?...

As for speeding yes I do believe car makers, in fact some already do, limit your speeds to the speed limit area your in.
I also did not claim Apple were liable, you seem to have confused my post of humans being so utterly thick and selfish that manufactures should make devices stopping them from endangering lives, to Apple is liable and people shouldn’t go after them?
Your argument is proven as flawed due to the people killed or seriously injured on the roads daily by phone users. Not including any other accidents they cause. Where is your proof people have any personal responsibility?
 
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Well according to the article it was the father of the girl who was killed who filed the lawsuit not the driver of the car which ran into the back of them

still rather ridiculous to not see that the issue isn't the phone but the owner. i mean do we hold car companies liable when someone knowingly speeds or beer companies liable when someone drinks a 12 pack and then drives. nope. drivers have to be held responsible for their choices
 
There's a lot of good and bad points in this discussion. I for one am against people using their phones while driving, especially texting and anything remotely close to it. Now I am guilty of having some conversations over my bluetooth system whether it being a headset or my in dash stereo, but I usually will wait till I get to where i am going before talking or pull over to talk to someone. Now if I am driving and have no passengers with me I will not even look at my phone when a text message pops up, I also don't even look at my apple watch. If I do have a passenger with me especially my wife or one of my kids I will have them check the text then read it to me depending on who it is from.

I was a fairly avid motocylclist until I had a few close calls from distracted drivers. I had one person cut me off that was talking on his phone, so I followed him to a Safeway parking lot and parked next to him. As he was getting out of his vehicle, and still talking on his phone, and I was getting off the bike and taking my helmet off, I went off on the guy. He said I'm on the phone, I said I didn't really give a rats A$$ i said give me one reason why I shouldn't beat the living hell out you for cutting me off a little ways back, he finally hung up his call. I proceeded to raise some major hate and discontent with the guy while having some control and not throwing my helmet at him or just beating the crap out of him. I put the fear of god in that dude. I think he might of peed himself a little. Now i don't ride because of to many things like that.

When I am driving and I see someone messing around with their phones, even at red lights, I usually just blast my horn at them and not just short little honks, they usually get the message.

Now I am not saying I am perfect by any means, But when I am driving my main focus is on driving, and I trust my driving a %1000, but I do not trust anyone else on the road at all.

I also don't agree that Apple or any other phone manufacturers should be responsible for us and having to implement things like DND while driving. People need to be responsible for their own actions and quit letting their phones run their lives, and that's what it has come to, phones running peoples lives. I also don't agree that the phone manufacturers or any other companies are responsible for someones pure ignorance, negligence and stupidity.
 
...
Actually it’s been proven as scientific fact that talking to a passenger is NOT as distracting as talking on the phone whilst driving, hence why people using phones crash, people talking to passengers do not...
The term is called situational awareness. The passenger has situational awareness, while the person at the end of a cell phone conversation doesn't.
 
Under that logic, anything goes once someone experiences significant grief because they are not to be judged.
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Actually, money makes people do a lot of things they wouldn't normally do. Notice there wasn't a lawsuit against the people who were Facetiming the driver while she was driving, knowing full well what they were doing was insanely dangerous.
I do agree that Americans are too litigious.
 
If you think talking while driving is distracting then you should not be allowed to drive.

Meanwhile, in the real world, there's evidence that a driver's attention belongs in the car. This is just a basic explainer graphic, but there's plenty of accident data to back up the common sense conclusion that distracted driving is real.

https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/tools-resources/infographics/hands-free-is-not-risk-free

If you honestly believe you can futz around with a complex device UI or immerse yourself into a phone call without peeling off some attention from the road, you're deluding yourself.
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Next time you fly on a passenger plane, be aware of the fact that the pilots are distracted too because they have to talk with each other and talk with the ATC while monitoring their instruments.
That's a ridiculous comparison and you know it. Flying a plane, except for a takeoff and landing, is pretty much automated at this point, and obviously there aren't other planes swerving around making left turns and stops right in front of the plane you're flying.

I also should have told my drivers instructor not to talk to me during my road exam because it could be distracting.

There's ample data that communicating with an in-car interlocutor incurs less of a cognitive load than having a phone call. And I think most people who are being honest with themselves will agree with that just based on common sense.

This is not underestimating or wrongly assessing the risk, it is having the required minimum skill and training to be able perform a task, such as driving a car or piloting an airplane without getting distracted so easily.

This sounds so much like the way people used to argue in favor of drunk driving. You realize that right? We get it, you're "good at driving" and can "handle" the distraction. Keep telling yourself that, but bear in mind that a large majority of drivers rate themselves as "above average" drivers.
 
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I agree 100% with Apple not being responsible. However I’m sure there’s quite a few people on this site that will change their tune the next time there’s a mass shooting and the victim’s families try suing the gun manufacturers.
even if that did happen there is enough case law that dictates the manufacture isnt responsible for how their products are used
this lawsuit is just one example
Why do you feel the need to use FaceTime instead of a normal phone call?
youll have to ask my wife or daughters who are the ones who facetime me
as my audio is routed over my Bluetooth in my truck and i am not looking at the screen it is no different than receiving a regular call from my wife or daughter
And I would argue a FaceTime call with the phone in your mount is incredibly dangerous and does distract you..
you would be wrong on that argument as i am not paying attention to the facetime on the screen and switch back to maps once the call is answered
it is less distracting to take a facetime from my wife or daughters than it is to ignore their facetime and make a regular call back to them
since my oldest daughter doesnt have great cell coverage in her college dorm it might be an emergency call that i am answering from her
heres what i posted and perhaps you misunderstood but it is obvious by stating what i did that the way i answer facetime in my truck is no different than a regular phone call "i have answered facetime while driving but my phone was either on my navigation mount or in my pocket and the audio was routed through Bluetooth so in other words it was no different than answering a phone call with the audio over Bluetooth"
The term is called situational awareness. The passenger has situational awareness, while the person at the end of a cell phone conversation doesn't.
anyone who doesnt have enough situational awareness to talk on the phone and drive shouldnt drive
 
You and the others who rely on this illogical and unfounded argument should take the time and actually learn the facts of the case:

https://www.caoc.org/?pg=facts

The TLDR version is this:

  • The lady who was burned did not drink the coffee, she spilled it while trying to remove the lid
  • McDonalds knew that it's coffee, which was served at 180-190 degrees, would cause 3rd degree burns within 3-7 seconds of it being spilled, and elected to continue serving at that temperature (despite the fact that there was no good reason to and 700 people had already been burned and complained to McDonalds).
  • Coffee is not typically served at over 180°, the coffee you are served from Starbucks is generally 145-155°. The ideal temperature for coffee is 105°
  • It takes over 10 minutes for coffee with a lid on it to cool from 190 degrees to 165 degrees, which is still hot enough to cause burns. The 2 minutes cited by some of you would have made no difference here.
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The job of the airbags is to protect occupants from accidents, regardless of whether the occupants cause the accident. In fact, just about every car crash is caused by human error, but under your analysis, manufacturers would never be held responsible for defects because the driver triggered the events.

The GM ignition switches were in fact defective and caused 124 deaths. The fact that the driver was drinking underage doesn't mean she deserved to be injured or killed due to a defect in GM's ignition switch.
I do believe the switch is defective. But that does not shield an irresponsible person from breaking the law.
No airbags can save anyone from injuries/death at a 75 mph crash into a tree. In fact, it was lucky to have the tree there; otherwise, the hunk of metal would be going into one of the houses around the cul-de-sac and it would be a murder case by the driver.
 
When you drive, you sit in silence, allowing no other conversation or sound in the car (including among your passengers)? You are able to think of nothing but the road ahead of you, do not see billboards, bumper stickers (or are illiterate so your brain does not automatically read the writing on them). Wow. You are impressive.

Most of us are human, and could not possibly do as you seem to do.

There is no real difference in talking to the person next to you in the car and talking on the phone (which you state is “exactly the same as what the guy who crashed in this article did.”

Maybe I'm smarter than the next guy, or maybe I'm just a worse driver and therefore more paranoid, I don't know, but when I'm in a demanding situation driving, I do ask for conversation to be held to a minimum, turn off the radio, etc. so I can focus better on the road. Despite emergencies of various kinds, I haven't been in an accident so far in over 30 years of driving. It's only a bad attitude that makes it impossible for other humans to do the same thing, so think about it. Arguing that you can't do anything about distractions to make your driving safer is prime evidence that you're a problem on the road. And there are studies that show that there is a difference between talking to another person in the car and talking on the phone. The dynamics of the conversation change when both participants are in the same environment. So really, everything you say is contradicted by facts. You should consider reevaluating your driving.
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If you think talking while driving is distracting then you should not be allowed to drive.

"If you think talking while driving is *NOT* distracting, then you should not be allowed to drive." Fixed the facts for you. Go do some research.
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This is a classic example of how risk is incorrectly assessed; because something bad has not happened when we do something repeatedly people assume it is low risk. As a result, people engage in risky behaviors without realizing how risky it may be. Feynman covered it well in his appendix to the Rogers Commission report.

As for talking while driving:

https://www.upi.com/Talking-while-d...r-threatens-road-safety-review/5411520710885/

I agree entirely. When someone argues against this, I know they have no idea what they're talking about.

The problem with driving is that most of the time it is monotonous and low risk. Unfortunately, the rare danger appear suddenly without warning and demands full attention. A distracted (or tired, or impaired) driver can't respond to those situations effectively. No amount of bravado will change that reality.
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That's a ridiculous comparison and you know it. Flying a plane, except for a takeoff and landing, is pretty much automated at this point, and obviously there aren't other planes swerving around making left turns and stops right in front of the plane you're flying.

It was a bit ridiculous, particularly since the FAA recommends a "sterile cockpit" approach to takeoff and landing operations -- no unnecessary conversation during those phases of flight because there have been accidents caused or exacerbated by pilots who were distracted by conversations. Commercial flights typically have one pilot flying the plane and the other handling the radio during those phases as well. Takeoff and landing aren't handled by automated systems in most planes. Piloting a commercial aircraft can be even more challenging than driving because hazards are even less frequent, but there are plenty of documented incidents with aircraft crossing runways in front of landing or departing aircraft, or pilots missing an instruction and landing on the wrong runway.
 
even if that did happen there is enough case law that dictates the manufacture isnt responsible for how their products are used
this lawsuit is just one example

youll have to ask my wife or daughters who are the ones who facetime me
as my audio is routed over my Bluetooth in my truck and i am not looking at the screen it is no different than receiving a regular call from my wife or daughter

you would be wrong on that argument as i am not paying attention to the facetime on the screen and switch back to maps once the call is answered
it is less distracting to take a facetime from my wife or daughters than it is to ignore their facetime and make a regular call back to them
since my oldest daughter doesnt have great cell coverage in her college dorm it might be an emergency call that i am answering from her
heres what i posted and perhaps you misunderstood but it is obvious by stating what i did that the way i answer facetime in my truck is no different than a regular phone call "i have answered facetime while driving but my phone was either on my navigation mount or in my pocket and the audio was routed through Bluetooth so in other words it was no different than answering a phone call with the audio over Bluetooth"

anyone who doesnt have enough situational awareness to talk on the phone and drive shouldnt drive

No you’d be wrong as the evidence shows otherwise, and you’re not some unique special driver, if you’ve got your phone sat in front of you with your daughters FaceTiming you, that’s a driver distraction and I doubt any Police officers would listen to your baseless argument. They’ve peeled far too many dead bodies of the road...

By the way, just how do you switch back to Apple Maps after your FaceTime call then? Which button do you press for that?

You are the one who should be banned from driving.
 
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