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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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Yes, yes... a defensive drivers course is a great solution, especially those that get plowed into waiting at traffic stops. Perhaps that would be a great solution to all the worlds problems. Don't want to get shot? Take a bullet defense class. Don't like war? Try bomb dodging class.
Yes, because I implied that every accident can be avoided...
Accidents happen, but if you're consistently in them there's a pretty good chance you're a **** driver...
The person who started the litigation wants more money plain and simple. All they will get from the insurance of the person who hit them is damages to car, medical bills and if they go for the bonus round...years of litigation potentially to get the extra money for hardship money.
with the down side..they will have to look hurt the rest of their life even if not. As its not unknown for insurance to follow up, sometimes on the sly. claimant saying crippled for life...doing some very uncrippled things captured by investigation and it just rolls down hill from there
With apple they are angling for possible settlement (to lose the bad press) or hoping for the vague shot of win and they can actually enjoy the money they get from that.
Case is based on neglect, not on "crippling" damages from an accident. they don't have to worry about that one picture that shows by miracles of miracles they are 100% healthy again. The picture(s) that will have an insurance say since you like court so much, lets go again. this time for fraud.
Now for those legitimately messed up in an accidents...I feel bad for you all. But sad fact is like mentioned before....people take advantage of this system.
On the contrary, as noted in the article, his lawsuit...
"...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."
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However, the article does give an example of someone who IS suing Apple for damages. That's the Texas family who lost their young daughter in a horrible crushing car wreck caused by someone using Facetime while driving.
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Now, a rhetorical question is this: why not also sue automakers for not including anti-collision in ALL their car models, not just the most expensive ones? After all, both wrecks would've been easily avoided if the cars with distracted drivers had automatically stopped themselves before rear ending someone.
(I will not be surprised if, just as with backup cameras, anti-collision becomes mandatory in the near future.)
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Slippery slope suit. Phones first, guns second etc. can't get technology to make up for basic human idiocy. Hope the suit gets tossed.
Technology ALREADY makes up for some human mistakes. Especially in vehicles, where a lot of tech has been mandated by the government to either help prevent mistakes, or mitigate injuries if a mistake occurs.
We have safety tech features such as anti-lock brakes, anti-rollover, rearview cameras, brake-gearshift interlocks, safety belt alarms, tire pressure monitors, airbags, child locks, and now optional anti-collision systems.
(I think mandating automatic anti-collision braking systems would make a big and instant impact on safety. Just preventing almost all rear-end collisions, would save a ton of people each year from injuries and horrible deaths. Not to mention insurance and repair costs.)
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How many accidents are caused by idiocy such as texting or using Facetime? Apparently a lot. There's no reason not to try to stop the most idiotic acts. It doesn't trample on anyone's rights any more than banning cigarettes. In both cases, harm can come to both the user and people around the user.
Same goes for power tools, and everything else. Technology features such as saw guards, interlocks and brakes help make up for human stupidity and mistakes, but don't prevent using the tool as intended. Ditto for guns. Heck, every one already has a safety switch to help prevent idiotic mistakes. And if every gun only responded to its registered owner's prints or ID ring, that would prevent a lot of needless child deaths, for example.
TL;DR - There's a huge difference between the slippery slope of removing basic someone's rights to use something, and the benefits of simply hampering the ability for someone to be an idiot and accidentally hurt himself or others while using something.
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Well technology tries to make up for basic mistakes and ends up killing people; like tesla self-driving cars.
I'm for technology making lives easier and better. Who isn't? It's been happening since the industrial revolution.
Until cigarettes are banned or we figure out a way to keep guns out of bad peoples hands or stop idiots from texting while driving, education is the best available course of action.
