NTSB Puts Some Of The Blame On Apple For Fatal Tesla Crash

A couple of years ago, there was a Tesla that was involved in a fatal crash. Now according to the NTSB, it seems that they are laying some of the blame on Apple for the crash. While the governing body did lay most of the blame on Tesla, it seems that they believe that Apple should shoulder some of the responsibility.

But why? Apart from the fact that the victim in the crash was an Apple engineer, what has this got to do with Apple? As it turns out, the victim was playing games on his company-issued iPhone when the crash happened, and that the NTSB is blaming Apple for not putting enough measures in place to ensure that employees do not use their phones while driving.

According to a statement by NTSB Chair Robert Sumwalt, “Let me circle back to the issue of driver distraction – one that involves the role of employers. Employers have a critical role in fighting distracted driving. At the NTSB, we believe in leading by example. Over a decade ago, under the leadership of my former colleague and NTSB chairman, Debbie Hersman, NTSB implemented a broad-reaching policy which bans using Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs) while driving. We know that such policies save lives.”

To Apple’s credit, they have introduced a do-not-disturb mode for driving, where if it detects that the user is in the car, it will turn off notifications and alerts to keep them focused. However, at the end of the day, if a person really wants to use their phone while they drive, we’re not sure how they can really be stopped.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones, Transportation
Tags: Self-Driving Cars, Tesla