[SystemSafety] Apple being sued for illegal use of Facetime

Wed Jan 4 18:43:28 CET 2017

If you are going to follow this line of thinking, it seems to me that the car manufacturers are more in line for criticism than the phone manufacturer. It is the car that is the "injuring device", not the mobile phone, so it makes more sense to install protection in the car than it does to put protection functions in the phone.

Going back to PBL's original argument, the problem is the distraction of drivers from the primary activity of driving. I'd have thought there was a case to expect the car designers to monitor that the driver is paying attention to the road. This is at least somewhat analogous to putting kickback protection on the table-saw.

There are already designs for systems to monitor drivers by observing their direction of gaze and head-attitude. I came across it in systems designed to detect drunk driving. I'd be amazed if no-one has improved them to monitor drivers failing to pay attention to the road for other reasons.

Cheers,
            Alvery

** these opinions are my own, not necessarily those of my employer.

From: systemsafety [mailto:systemsafety-bounces at lists.techfak.uni-bielefeld.de] On Behalf Of Chuck_Petras at selinc.com
Sent: 04 January 2017 4:58 PM
To: Peter Bernard Ladkin
Cc: The System Safety List
Subject: Re: [SystemSafety] Apple being sued for illegal use of Facetime

In regards to this

> Are manufacturers responsible for inhibiting illegal use of their products?

You may find this interesting.

Table Saw Accident Victims May Qualify to File a Lawsuit and Seek Settlement Compensation

"Despite safety technology that could prevent many of the most serious table saw injuries, the manufacturers of these tools have failed to equip them with their products. Table saw users who suffered amputations, lacerations, avulsions, or other injuries may be eligible to file a lawsuit against the table saw manufacturer and receive compensation."

"Since 2003, manufacturers of table saws have had access to flesh-detection technology called SawStop, which would prevent amputations and injuries to human flesh. However, these companies have chosen not to add the technology to their machinery. The reason? Adding this vital safety feature might increase the expense of production - a cost they would ultimately pass on to the consumer. What manufacturers don't seem to consider is that the cost of making safer tools might still be less than money spent in table saw injury lawsuits."

https://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=34083

Chuck Petras, PE**
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc
Pullman, WA  99163  USA
http://www.selinc.com<http://www.selinc.com/>
Tel: +1.509.332.1890

SEL Synchrophasors - A New View of the Power System <http://synchrophasor.selinc.com<http://synchrophasor.selinc.com/>>

Making Electric Power Safer, More Reliable, and More Economical (R)

** Registered in Oregon.

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