If you like to text and drive and you own an iPhone, you may be in for a rude awakening very shortly. Apple announced that it will be introducing a new feature called “Do Not Disturb While Driving” that will prevent people from using their phones when a phone is connected to a car by Bluetooth or cable.
The iPhone will lock the phone’s screen to prevent the use of most apps, and the iPhone will not push any notifications when it detects that the user is driving. In addition to that, Apple designed the feature to automatically respond to texts by notifying the person that the person they’re texting is currently driving. The phone will still be to use some navigation apps and Apple CarPlay, which allows a user to hear texts and respond by voice recognition software.
The goal of the new feature is to curb distracted driving as the National Highway Safety Administration estimates that eight people die each day on American roads due to crashes caused by distracted driving. eTags features blog posts often that discuss driving safety issues, and distracted driving is right on top of the list. If you are guilty of distracted driving, please know that it is far more dangerous than you think, and it is also illegal in some states.
In addition to texting while driving and using your phone for other reasons when you’re behind the wheel, other examples of distracted driving include eating or drinking, reaching to pick something up underneath or behind you, or turning around to talk with other passengers in the car. A few seconds of lost focus is all it takes to cause a fatal crash, which is why Apple, eTags, and others are doing their part to stop this.