Sad commercial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9swS1Vl6Ok
Article from Room for Debate:
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2017/01/11/apples-corporate-responsibility-for-distracted-driving
Joyce Dela Cruz
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Suing Apple
Everyone in this day and age is always on their phone, from the result of advancing technology. Not only does being on your phone the majority of the day cause you to be anti-social, or even cause eye strains, it can be extremely lethal. Moriah Modisette was only 5 years old when she fell victim to a distracted driver. Author Katherine Mangu-Ward explains that the "[Modisette Family] is suing to force Apple to automatically disable certain apps in a fast-moving vehicle." To me it sounds ridiculous, why blame the phone when the phone wasn't the one driving? The idea of suing Apple kind of makes sense if you want to start suing beer companies for DUI. But what are the chances of winning and actually enforcing that all apps stop when in a high-speed automobile. Of course there are flaws, what about people who ride the bus? Or passengers sitting shotgun? I have a navigation app called Waze and when I attempt to type the address while the car is moving it will say "Typing is disabled while driving. Try again when reaching a stop." Then you have an option to click okay or say that you are a passenger. The warning is great but ultimately ineffective because someone will always lie. This example is probably the closest the Modisette family can get to preventing distracted drivers. FOMO is seriously a driving force, it is scary that drivers are so fearful that they will miss out on a Snapchat from their friend. You can try showing those sad AT&T commercials about not texting and driving but that sympathy would probably last for five minutes. If any, what would be the solution for distracted driving?
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I found it really weird why they sued apple for this. Did they successfully do it? Because even though apple should have had something to help prevent texting while driving, but ultimately isn't it the users fault for texting? If you can't trust yourself to not pick up the phone and text then just turn it off and turn it on after the car ride. If you need a navigation app open then just don't open incoming texts because clearly going where you need to go is way more important than texting.
ReplyDeleteThere was already the 18th amendment for Prohibition, banning alcohol from being produced and sold in the 1900s. What happened? Secret organizations such as Al Capone's were established and caused more harm than before. Then ammendment was repealed. I agree with Mason and you because clearly suing Apple is not the solution. As you mentioned, it is quite easy to lie to get passed the alert. The best solution, in my opinion, is just to use the built-in GPS in the car, and discard any notifications the phone may provide.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about how everyone needs to discard notifications on their phones so they won't be distracted while driving but it may be necessary to take a further step. Everyone most likely just lowers the notifications volume rather than disabling them through their settings because of the hassle of doing so every time one enters the car especially for people who are always in a hurry. By lowering the notification volume or turning them off, the notifications still wake up the phone so to prevent the driver from even glancing at the phone because he saw it light up, he can simply just turn it face down with the notification sounds off right after entering the car to prevent them from looking at the phone. This could be a solution but people are so ignorant they won't care and still use their phones while driving so until the phones become a lot smarter, this will still be a problem.
DeleteIn my opinion, the car should automatically disable all apps when a car is in motion. Unless it gives the option of hands free. We all get tempted when drivers are behind the wheel to look at our phones and start playing with the apps. We think we are in control of our surroundings and nothing will happen when we look down at our phones. It’s in that instant an unfortunate accident can strike for not paying attention. It’s not the company’s fault for trying to make our lives easier with apps such as GPS to make getting around easier. We do need to take responsibility for our actions when driving. With the increase of technology nowadays, there needs to be more safeguards and controls on apps.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that while Apple should not be held responsible for others indiscretions and lack of self control, phone apps should not be accessible while the vehicle is in motion. This day in age, people in our society have this mindset that even though tragedies such as deadly car crashes happen everyday, it would never happen to them. This mixed with the compelling distraction that is our cell phones, is not a good combination.
DeleteIt is sad that the majority of the population knows about the consequences of the technological advance of smart phones. Yet, our world has not stopped this advance; they're even making smart cars. For instance, Tesla's Model X has a full self-driving system built in where you can do anything you'd like on the road while it performs. Tesla even proposes that the Model X is the "safest SUV ever." I don't believe that this will prevent future car accidents. It is convenient, but that doesn't stop people who will still drink and drive, or simply use their phones on the road. It is all dangerous, but people still continue to do it. Not all people can afford Tesla's Model X, but I suggest that they get a built-in GPS in their car.
ReplyDeleteI find it terrible that commercials couldn't even make a huge impact on drivers who text while driving. No matter how sad or how dramatic the commercials are about preventing text while driving, it seems like people don't use the commercial as a life lesson. I also find it terrible that the family is suing Apple. If they sue Apple, then they might as well sue other phone companies, such as Samsung, because almost every phone has notifications, but either way it's a bad idea to sue the company. It wasn't the phone who made the distracted driver kill the victim, it was the driver's decision to check on his/her phone, even though he/she knows it would put them to danger. What would be the most simple, but most unconvincing, way to prevent these problems is that the drivers act more responsible and either ignore the phone, or disable the notifications. Or just like what Joshua said, the driver could have the option of hands free or have the car disable all apps while moving.
ReplyDeleteA solution that would be effective is a hands-free component to apps. This already exists in most cars for phone calls. Imagine if the same idea was introduced for text messages, Facebook message, and Snapchat messages. Instead of dealing with the temptation to check your phone for an incoming messages, your car would simply notify you have one and give you the option to reply using your voice. The downside is that these cars would most likely cost more money, making it generally out of reach for people living in impoverished areas. However, if this were to be developed, I believe that there would be a decrease in the amount of accidents due to distracted driving.
ReplyDeleteAn effective way to reduce the fatal accidents produced by phones and driving would to have more cars with Bluetooth and sync capabilities. The car would read messages from the phone to the driver reducing the amount of drivers looking away from the road to use their phone. After the message is read, the driver would use their voice to command whether they want to respond and what their response is.
ReplyDelete