Auto accidents involving distracted drivers killed nearly 3,200 people in 2014 alone, and this problem continues to cause senseless accidents that result in serious injury and death. As we continue to expand our efforts in both the government and private sectors to combat distracted driving, a recent product liability lawsuit against Apple has brought attention to a not-yet-deployed patent, first filed in 2008 and granted in 2014, for “text-blocking technology” for phone-owners while driving a vehicle.
Apple indeed has technology that could “lock” a user’s phone and prevent certain functions such as texting while driving (using sensors to detect the vehicle’s speed), but there is a variety of concerns which have kept it on the shelf for the time being. These range from practical issues, like passengers of trains or buses who are not drivers and shouldn’t have their phones locked inadvertently, to phone companies’ concerns about differentiating between a driver and passenger in any given vehicle. Some companies have called the current technology “embryonic” and “unreliable.”
The patent described the perceived necessity of text-blocking technology, claiming “Texting and driving has become so widespread that it is doubtful that law enforcement will have any significant effect on stopping the practice” and “Teens understand that texting while driving is dangerous, but this is often not enough motivation to end the practice.” The documents were uncovered during a recent case for a distracted driver in Texas who was using her iPhone when she crashed into another vehicle, killing two and leaving a child paralyzed.
The victims’ families filed a lawsuit for product liability against Apple, redundantly claiming that Apple knew its iPhones would be used for text-messaging and did nothing to prevent the accident. Legal experts assert that the suit is not likely to succeed, as the iPhone itself was not responsible for the accident and it instead resulted from the driver’s negligence. However, the case has helped renew widespread attention to the potential of text-blocking technology and how it may be implemented in the future, especially amid a polarizing debate over whether it should be used at all. While Apple has had its reasons to keep it under wraps, professor Christopher Lutz of the University of California Berkeley School of Law claims that they “failed in their social responsibility” and “should’ve done it, and even done it at a market risk.”
For now, we recommend as always that you put your phone away while driving and only use it in absolute emergencies, and remember that there is a variety of apps available to temporarily “lock” certain functions on your phone while you drive, such as Cellcontrol, Drive Safe Mode, and Live2Txt, and apps to encourage safe driving such as Drivemode, Drivesafe.ly, and SafeDrive.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident due to negligence, contact America’s Consumer Lawyer for a free consultation. We are a Chicago-based injury law firm representing individuals (and their families) who have suffered an injury in an accident. We will handle your case quickly and advise you every step of the way, and we will not hesitate to go to trial for you.
Lastly, America’s Consumer Lawyer is not paid attorneys’ fees unless we win your case. Our no-fee promise is that simple. You have nothing to risk when you hire us – only the opportunity to seek justice.
