Apple Inc. did not owe "a duty of care" to the family of a young girl killed in a distracted driving crash, an appeals court has ruled. Apple's design of the iPhone used by the driver was not a "proximate cause" of the Texas highway crash and resulting death of 5-year-old Moriah Modisette, the court said in upholding an earlier ruling. The child's mother and family sued Apple for not warning of dangers from using the FaceTime video and audio feature while driving. The company also did not offer a feature to lock out the application at highway speeds, the 2017 lawsuit said. Apple had … [Read more...]
Indiana texting law takes a beating
February 26, 2016 by 1 Comment
A federal appeals court has cast a dubious eye on Indiana's texting & driving law. Ruling in the case of a suspected drug trafficker pulled over for texting, the court found that "the most plausible inference from seeing a driver fiddling with his cell phone is that he is not texting" -- citing a list of other activities possible on smartphones. In the decision dated Feb. 18, the court found: "No fact perceptible to a police officer glancing into a moving car and observing the driver using a cell phone would enable the officer to determine whether it was a permitted or a forbidden … [Read more...]
Siri a winner in Nova Scotia courts
November 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Canadian provinces continue to struggle with the specifics of their distracted driving laws. In the latest case, in Nova Scotia, the Supreme Court sided with a motorist who was ticketed for using the Siri feature on an iPhone to ask for directions. The high court ruled in late October 2015 that employing the voice-activated navigational system did not constitute "use" of the cell phone, which would be illegal. Justice Jamie Campbell said the related wording in the Nova Scotia's Motor Vehicle Act was so simple as to be unclear and behind the times. He said other provinces were more … [Read more...]
Cell phone search warrants needed
June 25, 2014 by 2 Comments
In a privacy ruling certain to affect distracted driving enforcement, the U.S. Supreme Court says police must have search warrants in order to examine the cell phones of those they arrest. The justices' cell phone ruling of June 25 said: "The police generally may not, without a warrant, search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested." The Fourth Amendment ruling was seen as a pivotal decision in the broad area of digital privacy. It did not specifically address distracted driving cases but clearly would apply to them. Police who seek to … [Read more...]
N.H. justices: Reading text was reckless
February 11, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of a man sent to prison for reckless driving while reading a text message. The resulting wreck left a teenager riding in another vehicle with brain damage. Chad Belleville was found guity of second-degree assault after he admitted to reading the text while his southbound SUV crossed the median and hit two northbound vehicles, leaving the boy with brain damage. Justice Carol Ann Conboy, left, wrote Feb. 11 that Belleville's driving on Dec. 23, 2010, was a "gross deviation from the conduct of a law-abiding citizen." He remains … [Read more...]
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