iPhone has been accused as the culprit of the increasing number of traffic accidents in the United States. Not surprisingly, Apple finally presents the latest features in iOS 11 which will make iPhone users stay focused on driving.
A feature called Do Not Disturb While Driving (DNDWD) will be available later this fall along with the release of iOS 11. With this feature, users can send and reply messages automatically during driving when connected with Bluetooth or cable in the car. Instead, iPhone can not accept incoming messages when the user is driving.
When there is an incoming message, then this smartphone will automatically send a reply “I’m driving with Do Not Disturb turned on.If you have urgent, reply ‘urgent’ to Send a notification through with your original message. ”
To support user navigation during the trip, Apple Maps can still be used when the iOS 11 feature is enabled, only the user can not select the destination when the DNDWD feature has been activated. When the user reaches the destination, there will be an option “I’m Not Driving” to activate the iPhone as usual.
The presence of DNDWD will strengthen other features brought by iOS 11, such as more intuitive multitasking capabilities in the iPad with a customizable Dock, augmented reality experience on iPhone and iPad, to Siri who will be smarter.
With the DNDWD feature is expected to drive accidents will decrease. The reason, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, as many as 8 people were killed every day and 1,161 people were injured in traffic accidents.
Joel Feldman, founder of End Distracted Driving says Apple is late about issuing DNDWD features on iOS 11. According to him, iPhone users are involved in hundreds of cases of accidents and Apple can not deny the fact.
“Regardless of the DNDWD feature, incidents involving the iPhone will continue, hopefully, other smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and Nokia will do more to protect us,” he said as quoted by Huffington Post.