‘Do Not Disturb’ Mode Could Cause Problems
Apple’s latest iPhone operating system upgrade, IOS11, is expected to be expected to be released next week.
With it comes the much heralded ‘Do Not Disturb Whilst Driving’ mode, intended to block incoming calls, texts, and other notifications when the user is driving.
This has triggered a letter from a coalition of UK Road Safety campaign organisations asking that the Android and Microsoft operating systems follow suit and provide similar functions.
They claim that drivers using handsets when driving are 33% slower to react than even those driving after drinking at the allowed limit. As a result, they are four times more likely to be in a crash that causes injury, if using a mobile at the wheel. They want all mobiles to detect when the user is driving, turn the screen blank, suspend all notifications and allow use for calls only with hands-free devices until journey’s end.
They are also asking that automatic replies can be sent via SMS to anyone trying t contact the user, saying the recipient is driving and will respond later, as the new Apple system will.
What is not clear with either these proposals or the expected iOS release is how some legitimate uses will not be blocked in this mode. Experts are asking how someone going somewhere as a passenger, even on a train, will be able to use their phone without disabling the function.
Then there are Apps that drivers may use, such as Navigation Apps, which are screen dependent. A driver who dithers because of not knowing where to go is surely as dangerous as one reading a text.
