Photo: screenshot from ABC
Inspired by video calling services such as Skype, FaceTime is one of the biggest hits of Apple. The Cupertino-based company debuted the app in 2010, when the iPhone 4 was reigning supreme.
Now, however, we turn our attention to FaceTime for a sensible matter: distracted driving. On Christmas Eve of 2014, the Modisette family were driving a Toyota Camry on a highway near Dallas when police activity prompted them to slow down. According to a suit filed on December 23, 2016, another driver struck the Modisette’s family car at full highway speed (65 mph) from behind, causing extensive damage to the Toyota sedan.
It should be noted that the distracted driver who crashed his 4Runner SUV into the rear of the Camry sedan was using FaceTime at the time the crash occurred. And a crash that led to the death of a 5-year-old child is no laughing matter. Having lost their daughter on that damned Christmas Eve, what remains of the Modisette family wants justice to be served in court.
James and Bethany Modisette want Apple to be held accountable for encouraging distracted driving. From the lawsuit attached below as a PDF, the Modisette family highlights that Apple had filed a patent for “lock-out” feature for FaceTime in instances such as when driving. It should be underlined that smartphone apps such as Waze ship with this kind of feature.
The patent was granted in 2014 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, yet the Cupertino stronghold did not update the app with the lock-out feature for devices such as the iPhone 6 Plus the distracted driver was using. According to Courthouse News, “Apple’s failure to either program a shutoff into the FaceTime program or give strong warning about using the app while driving is particularly egregious given the app fully engages visual components rather than audio ones as with regular cellphone usage.” Fair enough, if I may say.
Represented by Jeffrey Simon of Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett, the Modisettes seek economic damages and punitive damages from Apple.
It should be noted that the distracted driver who crashed his 4Runner SUV into the rear of the Camry sedan was using FaceTime at the time the crash occurred. And a crash that led to the death of a 5-year-old child is no laughing matter. Having lost their daughter on that damned Christmas Eve, what remains of the Modisette family wants justice to be served in court.
James and Bethany Modisette want Apple to be held accountable for encouraging distracted driving. From the lawsuit attached below as a PDF, the Modisette family highlights that Apple had filed a patent for “lock-out” feature for FaceTime in instances such as when driving. It should be underlined that smartphone apps such as Waze ship with this kind of feature.
The patent was granted in 2014 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, yet the Cupertino stronghold did not update the app with the lock-out feature for devices such as the iPhone 6 Plus the distracted driver was using. According to Courthouse News, “Apple’s failure to either program a shutoff into the FaceTime program or give strong warning about using the app while driving is particularly egregious given the app fully engages visual components rather than audio ones as with regular cellphone usage.” Fair enough, if I may say.
Represented by Jeffrey Simon of Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett, the Modisettes seek economic damages and punitive damages from Apple.
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