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This is beyond stupid. Should Starbucks and fast food be sued for encouraging people to eat while driving when they use drive throughs? Lets sue auto makers for putting cup holders in cars that encourage the use of drinks in a car. While at it lets sue radio stations for distracting drivers everyday while driving. I have always been more distracted in my car by trying to change the radio station, or spilling drinks and food vs ignoring texts on my phone which is easy to do if a person puts in about 1% of effort.

Besides there is a lock out feature already. Its called not picking up your phone while driving and ignoring the sounds coming from it.

Some people have become obsessed with trying to blame mobile devices for the fact that people can't drive anymore. The idiot drivers would just find something else to get distracted by, like a squirrel.

How do you force people to behave properly?
A pointless proposal which will not serve for any positive purpose. Who says its only Apple devices and who says its just the Americans (Ok its about an American suing Apple...) but what are we really talking about here? I was under the impression that the real issue here is texting and driving? The issue is not TEXTING and driving. the issue is NOT FOCUSING on the road whilst driving. So whats the solution? Banning phones? of course not.

The solution is to educate people. How?

1) (Very) harsh penalties and Jail terms if required
2) Ban them from driving for very lengthy periods of time
3) Put it on their criminal records
4) Create (AND SHARE) educational videos showing simulations of car crashes with as much detail as is logically possible.

Those are *REAL* solutions. not suing iphone to introduce a stupid lock. Uneducated people will find it easy to be 'bothered' by something else other than an iphone whilst driving.

So you're saying people should be given the free will to text-and-drive?
 
Wow. It's Apple's fault if someone uses their devices behind the wheel? No. Just no. If someone is injured or killed and they were on their phone, tough luck, I've no sympathy at all. It's utter stupidity.
 
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At what point are drivers responsible for their actions? Funny thing is I have SiriEyes in my car but half the time I use it I'm told it can't give me the info I seek while I'm driving so I pull out my phone at a light - obiliterating the whole point of that feature. Nannies are not always best.
 
Most cars do have limiters. They are limited to 124mph or 155mph depending on the tires the vehicle came with. Most are 124mph. 80mph is way too slow. There are highways in Texas that have an 85mph speed limit. Limiting a vehicle to 80mph is also unsafe. What if you needed to get out of a dangerous situation quickly. Or for passing purposes on one lanes highways. Faster you pass, the safer.

Yeah, we've got a fun 85 MPH toll road near Austin (I think hwy 130?). It's kinda fun but scary too. A lot of people here in San Antonio reprogram the governors on their cars. While it's illegal, most LEOs don't even check for that kind of thing.

I think if you limited cars to 80MPH here, people would just find software programming or mod their engines.

Just like I think if they do find a way to restrict Apple, some jailbreak might come along and void it.

I think personal responsibility for actions needs to be emphasized.
 
Or better yet, remove driving privileges from the general public.

The only people that should be allowed to drive are those whose jobs it is to drive.
It's my experience that those who "drive for their jobs" are often some of the worst drivers out there, especially American police officers who for some inexplicable reason think they have priority whenever they are on the road!
 
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Yes. Apple's at fault for everybody's stupidity with texting and driving. They should somehow differentiate drivers from passengers and texting from calling or maps. Nobody can bear any responsibility.

Smh the stupidity of some people. You can't get more stupid than this guy.
 
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This is going to be extremely difficult to implement, aside from mandatory requests of drivers' license details or something..if you don't have a car and live in the city, then no problem, but discerning between passenger and driver is going to be nearly impossible without some sort of system incorporating hardware for verification fitted to cars
 
Wow. It's Apple's fault if someone uses their devices behind the wheel? No. Just no. If someone is injured or killed and they were on their phone, tough luck, I've no sympathy at all. It's utter stupidity.

yes. they are responsible, since they chose to implement a product without the available solution.
 
Does this person plan on developing a solution as well? Just because Apple applied for a patent doesn't mean they actually have a the capability of doing it.

Currently there is no reliable way the phone would know if the user was driving or if they were a passenger in a personal car, a bus, etc. Meaning no one would could use a phone when in motion which of course ridiculous. A scene analyzer doesn't really make sense, since presumably that is saying that the camera would have to always be on and seeing if a steering wheel was in view or something which wouldn't work since that would quickly drain the battery and prevent passengers from using their camera for other things. Not to mention the millions of different scenarios where the camera couldn't reliable know if the person was driving or not.

The only way is if car manufacturers got involved as well to add beacons to cars to work with phones they way they do with knowing if a car key is in the drivers seat or not roughly. So this person needs to sue all car manufactures as well.

Not to mention, within a day people would find hacks or work arounds to get around the limitation, and potentially those hacks would cause the driver to get into a even more dangerous situation. Just like with people stealing music, trying to block people doesn't work, instead music industry had to provide a better alternative, which was streaming. In the case of cars, they need to find a better alternative to using your phone, and Apple and Google and car manufacturers are working on that such as CarPlay but will take many years and many improvements to cars to make it a viable alternative to the average person.
 
I'd be shocked if a judge allowed this to proceed. There are hundreds of ways a driver can be distracted. Texting is just one of the newer ones. There is already a "lock out" device, it's called your hand. You put the phone down with your hand and then you don't touch it while you're driving. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a situation where the lawyer gets reprimanded as well.
 
Does this person plan on developing a solution as well? Just because Apple applied for a patent doesn't mean they actually have a the capability of doing it.

Currently there is no reliable way the phone would know if the user was driving or if they were a passenger in a personal car, a bus, etc. Meaning no one would could use a phone when in motion which of course ridiculous. A scene analyzer doesn't really make sense, since presumably that is saying that the camera would have to always be on and seeing if a steering wheel was in view or something which wouldn't work since that would quickly drain the battery and prevent passengers from using their camera for other things. Not to mention the millions of different scenarios where the camera couldn't reliable know if the person was driving or not.

The only way is if car manufacturers got involved as well to add beacons to cars to work with phones they way they do with knowing if a car key is in the drivers seat or not roughly. So this person needs to sue all car manufactures as well.

Not to mention, within a day people would find hacks or work arounds to get around the limitation, and potentially those hacks would cause the driver to get into a even more dangerous situation. Just like with people stealing music, trying to block people doesn't work, instead music industry had to provide a better alternative, which was streaming. In the case of cars, they need to find a better alternative to using your phone, and Apple and Google and car manufacturers are working on that such as CarPlay but will take many years and many improvements to cars to make it a viable alternative to the average person.

Why are people saying that passengers shouldn't have their phones disabled as well?
 
How do you force people to behave properly?


So you're saying people should be given the free will to text-and-drive?

I am saying people should have the common sense to not even think of doing such a thing.

You have the free will to jump out of a window for fun, even if you can kill yourself. You have the free will to abuse alcohol and drugs for fun, even if you can kill yourself. You possess the free will to do anything, even if it kills you. But generally you don't do it because you have been educated with a powerful yet rare weapon which is common sense.

You need to teach a person about something. TO be sure that an act is REALLY carried out, the worst thing you can do is forbid it.
 
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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.

distracted-driving.jpg

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
I hope they toss the guy suing out on his Butt and then tied on a flagpole so everyone can laugh at his how stupid he is.... are they going to lock out my windows so i can jump out of the car at speed? Lock out my radio so i cant listen to music at speed? Pathetic
 
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It's my experience that those who "drive for their jobs" are often some of the worst drivers out there, especially American police officers who for some inexplicable reason think they have priority whenever they are on the road!

And you think that's limited to american police officers? ;)
 
I am saying people should have the common sense to not even think of doing such a thing.

You have the free will to jump out of a window for fun, even if you can kill yourself. You have the free will to abuse alcohol and drugs for fun, even if you can kill yourself. You possess the free will to do anything, even if it kills you. But generally you don't do it because you have been educated with a powerful yet rare weapon which is common sense.

You need to teach a person about something. TO be sure that an act is REALLY carried out, the worst thing you can do is forbid it.

And I'm saying people don't have that common sense, and you deal with it from there.

Complaining about people being stupid is pointless.

People ARE stupid, and you develop public policy from there.
 
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Sounds like an overly complicated, intrusive solution to something that humans shouldn't be bloody dumb enough to do in the first place. Someone dies in a car crash because they were texting, I'm sorry but I fail to see how that's Apple fault. For once, it isn't Apple's fault. ;)
 
Obviously filed in California-- the plaintiff can't even imagine a second person in the car...
 
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