This is a desperate family that wants to hold people accountable for the actions of an irresponsible driver.
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Apple Sued for Choosing Not to 'Lock-Out' iPhones Behind the Wheel to Prevent Texting and Driving
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Well just because case was created in California doesn't make this dumb@ss an American, name might be a giveaway.
If you read the article, the problem isn't that this guy doesn't know how to put his phone down. He was rear-ended himself by someone who was texting while driving. I think he has a valid point and lawsuit against Apple.
I honestly hope he wins this case. I've been also trying to request that Apple implement some feature that would allow automatic responses to text messages while driving, something as simple as "I'm driving right now, this is an automated response, will respond later."
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You start off with suing Apple. Once you win a lawsuit against Apple, people are sure to go after all the other companies.
I honestly hope he wins this case. I've been also trying to request that Apple implement some feature that would allow automatic responses to text messages while driving, something as simple as "I'm driving right now, this is an automated response, will respond later."
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You start off with suing Apple. Once you win a lawsuit against Apple, people are sure to go after all the other companies.
Hope the case gets tossed. There isn't much else to say about it.
My thoughts exactly. How would the phone be able to tell if it's in the hands of the driver or a passenger? What if you are on a train? I would hope it wouldn't disable the phone if you were moving over a certain speed.
Yes, I would 100% still feel that way, because the proposed "solution" is utter nonsense. I would demand the person responsible be held accountable for their actions and punished.
Agreed. It's ediotic.
This is disturbing; imagine the legal precedent this would create. I disagree that companies should be expected to disable or inhibit devices to curb human behavior. The whole point of common sense is to modify one's own behavior, with consequences being pretty obvious otherwise. Some people never learn, this is true, until there is a tragedy. But creating a device/firmware that disables itself like this is a foolish idea. For example, how could the phone determine if someone was actually behind the wheel and not kidnapped, in the trunk of a car? LOL Seriously, though.
Very intelligent. Apply this to any dangerous habit and then wonder why "putting it down" never works.
Stupid idea though because of the non driving passengers.
California resident Julio Ceja is seeking a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of placing profit before consumer safety by choosing not to implement a lock-out mechanism that would disable an iPhone's functionality when being used behind the wheel by an engaged driver.
Ceja demands that Apple halt the sale of all iPhones in California until a lock-out mechanism is implemented. He also demands that Apple release a software update that adds a lock-out mechanism to all iPhones already in the hands of consumers. He is not seeking further damages beyond legal fees and costs.
The complaint, filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, asserts that Apple's willful decision not to implement a lock-out mechanism on iPhones, chiefly to prevent texting and driving, constitutes "unfair business acts and practices" under California's Unfair Competition Law. A jury trial has been demanded.
Ceja asserts that Apple's "enormous market share" means that it is the "largest contributor" to texting and driving, while noting it is "downright shocking" that smartphone companies like Apple "do nothing to help shield the public at large from the dangers associated with the use of their phones."
"If texting and driving is a vessel of trouble, Apple is the captain of the ship," the complaint alleges.
The complaint claims that Apple recognized the dangers of texting and driving, and the important role it should play in stopping it, in its lock-out mechanism patent filed in 2008 and published in 2014.
The patent notes that "texting while driving has become a major concern of parents, law enforcement, and the general public," and further claims that "texting while driving has become so widespread it is doubtful that law enforcement will have any significant effect on stopping the practice."
The patent describes one method where a motion analyzer would detect whether a handheld device is in motion beyond a certain speed. A scenery analyzer would be able to determine whether the holder of the handheld device is located within a safe operating area of a vehicle. Otherwise, the device could be disabled.
In other embodiments, a vehicle or car key could transmit a signal that disables functionality of the handheld device while it is being operated. To a lesser degree, a vehicle could also transmit a signal that merely sends the device a notification stating that functionality should be disabled.
In November, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended smartphone makers develop a "Driver Mode", a simplified interface that would prevent access to non-driving-related tasks such as text messaging, social media, and viewing images and video unrelated to driving.
The complaint comes less than one month after a Texas family sued Apple for failing to enable said lock-out mechanisms to prevent distracted driving. On Christmas Eve in 2014, the family's vehicle was struck by a distracted driver who admitted to using FaceTime while driving. The accident caused one fatality.
Apple has faced other similar lawsuits in the past. In response to a Texas lawsuit filed in 2015, Apple indicated the responsibility is on the driver to avoid distractions in a statement provided to The New York Times:Ceja himself was rear ended by a driver who was texting behind the wheel. Whether this latest complaint has merit will be up to the court to decide. Apple has yet to publicly comment on the matter.
Article Link: Apple Sued for Choosing Not to 'Lock-Out' iPhones Behind the Wheel to Prevent Texting and Driving
Can't people here read? The patent specifically states that only the driver's phone would be disabled:
The patent describes one method where a motion analyzer would detect whether a handheld device is in motion beyond a certain speed. A scenery analyzer would be able to determine whether the holder of the handheld device is located within a safe operating area of a vehicle. Otherwise, the device could be disabled.
Something needs to be done to stop the stupidity, and time has proven that drivers won't take the responsibility. And yes I think this needs to apply to all phones not just Apple.
The patent describes one method where a motion analyzer would detect whether a handheld device is in motion beyond a certain speed. A scenery analyzer would be able to determine whether the holder of the handheld device is located within a safe operating area of a vehicle. Otherwise, the device could be disabled.
Something needs to be done to stop the stupidity, and time has proven that drivers won't take the responsibility. And yes I think this needs to apply to all phones not just Apple.
Holy crap. What about in a train, bus, cab? How about riding a bike? This idiot is clueless about what they are asking for and the lawyer has to be even stupider to take the case. And, both of them probably hopped in their cars and promptly got on their phones. WTH?
He should also sue USA Today. I have seen people reading them while driving.
This is so nuts. And the lawyer that did it should be taken before the bar and receive lashes!
This is so nuts. And the lawyer that did it should be taken before the bar and receive lashes!
Yeah, I'm all for safety I hate seeing people driving and texting or doing anything on their phones, but there have been countless times where I've asked my passenger to check something on my phone, or reroute directions while I'm driving. Could any software really determine if the phone is in the driver's seat or the passenger seat? Or if it's mounted on the dash?
Have you even read the article / patent?
"a scenery analyzer configured to determine whether the handheld computing device is located within a safe operating area of a vehicle based on at least one of picture data and video data"
Obviously Apple need only argue in court that they can't even develop a decent spell checker, so some kind of magical AI for determining if you are driving a car might be a few years off.
This sounds like a classic "something bad happened to me so now I want to change it for everyone" scenario.
Imagine being on public transportation...a bus or train. This idiots paranoia would ruin everyone.
I can read just fine, and that would not work without some high end software. Imagine the cost of that phone now. No one would buy it or use it.
This is simply people not acting like adults with some responsibility. I watched a girl today sitting at a light, knees up to wheel and both hands working the phone. Light changed and she did not even flinch. Just accelerated. That is stupid and that is what should be enforced.
Yet another idiot blaming technology for a human problem. And assuming there's some sort of technological fairy dust that can magically solve it. None of the proposed solutions can accurately tell if a phone that's in motion is being used by the driver, vs. a passenger. Say, a passenger on a bus or a train or an airplane. Should all those phones be locked out too? In addition, cars often have accidents at speeds below the speed of someone walking fast. So, no phone use while walking or jogging. Heck, I've had Pokemon Go tell me I was moving too fast to play, while I was sitting down. In a chair. In Starbucks. Because of GPS drift. Phones can't accurately tell that you're even in a vehicle, much less that you're the driver.
Calling for a sales ban is grandstanding. The only trial needed here is a mental competency hearing for the guy filing the lawsuit. Apple is not the "largest contributor" to texting and driving, drivers are the largest contributor. If the phones existed and the drivers didn't, there'd be no accidents.
The idiot filing the lawsuit doesn't seem to understand that companies file all sorts of patents for ideas that don't work satisfactorily, in the hope that maybe someday they'll get it to work (or maybe he knows and just hopes the jury won't). The patent describes a general idea, not the specifics of a working invention, and should probably not have been granted in the first place. The suggestions about a vehicle or car key transmitting a signal... suddenly that's not the phone manufacturer who is responsible, that's the car companies, right? Require all smartphone manufacturers to make use of such circuitry once it's present in at least 25% of the cars on the road. That's assuming the circuitry can accurately identify the driver. Which it can't. More magic fairy dust.
Having a reduced interaction "driver mode" on the phone is fine, in and of itself. But the NHTSA should be ashamed of themselves for implying that such a thing can be turned on automatically with any sort of reliability.
The family in Texas should be going entirely after the driver who thought using FaceTime while driving was a reasonable idea. If they really want to try to blame someone beyond the driver, go after the person at the other end of the line who didn't say, "wait, WTF, are you driving?" and hang up on the driver. How exactly is Apple (or any phone manufacturer) at fault more than the car manufacturer? The people didn't die from the phone crushing them, they died from the car crushing them. Remove the phone from the scenario and they might not have gotten killed (maybe the driver would have been distracted instead by the radio, or a drink, or an advertising billboard out the window). Remove the car from the scenario, and they'd definitely have survived.
And before anybody says, "well but if it saves even one life" / "think of the children"... If you really cared, if saving innocent lives was really the thing that was important here, there's a very simple, direct way to save over 30,000 lives every year: ban all cars. Switch entirely over to public transportation (which would obviously have to be substantially improved). What, you say? That would be expensive, disruptive, and inconvenient? So... then... you don't really care about saving lives after all.
this guy is an idiot. it's not the apple's problem if people are using their product while driving. i see people drinking coffee in mug and eating cereal while driving but i'm not out putting a class action against folgers or kelloggs..
Remember, anyone willing the pay the filing fee, often less than a hundred dollars, can sue anybody for anything. While it does require the time and expense to file a motion to dismiss, which is almost certainly the outcome in this case, these suits are usually just for the publicity of the lawyer who agreed to file the case for the notoriety at a minor expense. The only thing that would deter them is some sort of "loser pays" system, but the trade off is always that you would deter some number of legitimate lawsuits where the plaintiff couldn't bear the costs of even a chance of losing.
I have a number 2 pencil on my desk that doesn't have a method to prevent me from shoving it into my eye repeatedly. I'll of course be seeking class certification in my soon to be filed suit.
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