Apple Watch and other Smartwatches driving distractions? Ping!
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Posted on 04/21/2015 2:37:22 PM PDT by Swordmaker
An attorney is seeking a court order that four tech giants fund a $1-billion smartwatch warning campaign After the Apple Watch ships to initial customers Friday, thousands of motorists might be sneaking a glance at the smartwatch to read text messages and other alerts.
That has at least one person concerned. On Monday, an attorney filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and Google that seeks a court order for the technology companies to fund a $1-billion public education campaign about the dangers of using a smartwatch while driving. In his lawsuit, Stephen Joseph says smartwatches represent a bigger distraction for drivers than smartphones because the vibrations and the sounds from the wrist-worn device will be tougher to ignore.
"The temptation to check the tiny screen immediately after receiving a notification is virtually irresistible," the suit says, adding that looking at the watch means "the road becomes invisible to the driver."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
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Stupid
Well, the solution is then obvious. Sell those watches only to people who can prove, in a series of psychological tests, that they can resist the irresistible.
Unfortunately therein lies another problem. People who want these watches are very likely to want to be in contact with everyone, all the time.
Lawyers should come with warning labels.
I don’t have one, but don’t these things by now have text-to-speech and vice-versa as standard applications?
I’d consider a SmartWatch arguably worse than a phone when you’re driving. You can’t operate it with one hand.
This is different from glancing at an ordinary watch or looking down at the dashboard, or over at the GPS map, or a mirror, or back over a shoulder?
Are there people so deluded that they think drivers should never blink or ever look away from the road directly ahead?
And how much of that $1 billion will go to the lawyer?
There are serious proposals to make cell phones not able to operate in a moving vehicle for just this reason.
I’m sure your smartphone is going to be all abuzz with twitter updates as you’ve put who knows how much distance and 30+ feet of water from the nearest cell tower. Heck, if you’re floating at the surface and your wrist is underwater, I’m guessing that there’s 15 feet of water, direct line of sight to the nearest tower.
There’s a reason why any travel to Mars will have a water jacket around crew areas. It stops radiation...all types of it.
Siri will read any text to you . . . and you can dictate a response.
this just in
people too stupid to drive shouldn’t be allowed to buy smart watches
there oughta be a law
Yet another LEECH who produces nothing of value and simply wants to feed (in a VERY AMPLE fashion) off of the productive elements in private industry.
You are claiming facts not in evidence. . . and false to fact. Siri can launch any app. Control the watch with voice commands. You want to make ex cathedra statements about something you know nothing about. Sorry tacticalogic, it just doesn't work that way. You erect straw man arguments that you can shoot down but they are just not true.
“Stupid”
VERY SMART, and quite enriching.
For that one particular lawyer, anyway.
Wonder how much Apple gives him to buy him off?
Then why not just voice control the damned phone and be done with it?
“I don’t have one, but don’t these things by now have text-to-speech and vice-versa as standard applications?”
No...
The Lawyer 2.0 hasn’t been developed, yet.
Sticking with my Rolex. Way cooler.
Typically in a case like this? Probably 2/3rds. . . and then he gives himself a sinecure position as head of the organization running the campaign at a hefty yearly salary.
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