Apple rolls out 'Do Not Disturb' feature to keep you safe while driving

Distracted driving has become a national safety crisis because of the rise of smartphones. According to the statistics from US Department of Transportation, 10 percent of fatal crashes, 15 percent of injury crashes and 14 percent of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2015 were attributed to distracted driving- an umbrella term for cell phone use, as well as other in-car activity like adjusting the radio or climate controls.

The feature that has made way in iOS 11’s latest beta was announced in June at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference. The feature aims to combat the very dangerous practice of texting from behind the wheel, while also switching off other alerts that entice people to look at their phones while driving.

When the feature is active, and the iPhone is aware that you're in a car by connecting to a vehicle's USB connection or Bluetooth, it will actuate the feature automatically. When enabled, messages sent won't be displayed to the driver, and the phone can automatically notify people that you're on the road.

"It's all about keeping your eyes on the road," Apple Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi had said at WWDC when announcing the new feature. "When you're driving you don't need to see these kinds of messages or even respond to it."

Apple notes that even if not connected to a car, it can detect that the car is moving, and enable the feature accordingly. Regardless, CarPlay functionality stays live. Navigation and music playback still work.

Plus, parents concerned about a child disabling the feature can prevent changes to the setting in the Restrictions menu. You also can turn it off and on for yourself from the newly revamped Control Center, where a widget is available that lets you enable the feature with a push of a button. Also, DNDWD mode can be turned off through settings option anytime.