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Car Tech: Are you for or against GPS and cell phones in cars?
- 5/22/07 5:29 PM
Curious, Chrysler offered hands-free visor cell phones
by thekidrocks - 5/30/07 5:21 PM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiNot to be snippy, but it was the now defunct Chrysler who offered the hands-free visor cell phone in the late 1980s. It was considered a safer alternative to holding a phone.
Auto Distractions
by mcbearbryant - 5/30/07 5:36 PM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiRegarding German cars and cupholders. Benz bought Chrysler in 98 and every Mercedes model built after 93 had cup holders, just not 8-10 of them like on many American cars.
Regarding distractions, cell phones and GPS tinkering are certainly distractions. I drive 50K miles a year and see folks wander across lanes, through intersections, off highway and without fail [and that is not an exaggeration it has been due to talking on cell or fiddling with the radio or GPS or turned around dealing with the kids in the back. Mostly Cell phone usage.
I have driven over a million miles without an accident and found out 8 years ago how distracting a cell can be. While talking to my wife about the day's work I was commuting home from NYC to Beacon, 75 miles away. It was when I saw the Welcome to Connecticut sign that I realized that I had just not been paying as much attention as I thought I had had been. I quit using cell while driving that night.
Take a breath
by rwewe9 - 5/30/07 5:40 PM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiI am sure they were worried when radios were put into Cars.
I turn the radio off when I am in heavy traffic.
The point is that any and all distractions are a problem, if the driver fails understand he or she should not allow themselves to be distracted.
Coffee cups and gps devices can be used by passengers, or by stopping to use them. Rather than banning the devices, We should ticket and heavily fine people who are driving distracted. Better than banning the items, penalize the the dangerous and irresponsible behavior.
Concerning Germans, their need for attention to their driving is higher than ours, because they can drive in some places at no speed limit, and compare that to the parking lots which we call freeways.
German Drivers
by plael - 5/30/07 6:36 PM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiI have read that Germans have the lowest accident rate and highest speeds. I would be willing to give up cell phones, coffee, snacks, gps, etc only if we could also remove speed limits. While driving 110 mph in the left lane of the German autobhan drivers keep both hands on the wheel regardless of laws.
Remove the speed limit?
by stahu - 5/31/07 12:45 PM In reply to: German Drivers by plaelYou Sure couldn't drive 110MPH here with the traffic we have and anyone that wants to, must be a little NUTS!
Very much against
by JLovell99 - 5/31/07 12:38 AM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiRick-
In many European countries, it is against the law to eat or drink while (whilst for the Brits) you are driving - therefore no cup holders in cars! Several years ago, we picked up a car in Germany on BMW's overseas delivery program, and it had a very nice console down the middle. After going through prep in the U.S. (to refit the radio and other stuff), the lovely console was gone and replaced with damn cup holders! We were not happy.
Whilst in Britain for a while
by ochamichael - 5/31/07 1:57 AM In reply to: Very much against by JLovell99Whilst it is true that many Brits use the word "whilst" erroneously (while Americans don't use it at all), the proper usage of "whilst" is in the meaning "although", while "while" has the meaning "at the same time". As a Dane, I am neutral. But whilst I use a GPS whenever I am in doubt of my direcctions - much safer than trying to mapread while driving, I try to avoid talking on my mobile phone (cellphone for the US) while driving.
GERMAN CUPHOLDERS
by marc_90292 - 5/31/07 4:16 AM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiI drove 240 km/hr - I think that is 160 mph or so - on the Autobahn back from Luxembourg to Bonn in a Renault Alpine, a French sports car entirely made of plastic, even the luggage compartment was made of impregnated card board to make the car lighter. The tires in turn were double width (any scientist can explain the consequences for the weight per square inch ratio). And sure enough two years later I had an accident at 60 mph, again on the Autobahn, when the car started aquaplanning and disassembled itself when caught under the guard rail.
On the way back from Luxembourg, however, drinking or eating was as far away from my mind as needlestitching (is that a word?), as it was many times before and after during my stay in Europe, where different traffic conditions exist.
Excellent logic!!
by helsharmar - 5/31/07 9:09 AM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiGreat point. Now continuing with this rational[e], should I get rid of the carpet in my living room or the one in my car? Too many people are oversimplifying. For example, yes, different parts of the brain are used for audio and video, but different parts of the brain are also used for different types of audio processing. Are you playing background music or concentrating so hard on a conversation that you don't notice the brake lights go on in front of you?
German mentality
by go figure - 5/31/07 6:02 PM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiThat's why Germany lost WWII. They couldn't multitask. Eliminate the cup holder from my car. I don't think so. Where would I put my hot coffee--between my legs like the gal at McDonalds? If you're driving top end (like they do (and I have done) in Germany) I would leave my coffee at home because that will keep you awake. But at 55 - 70 mph?
cup holders
by Piercan - 6/7/07 4:13 PM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiAnd I am still very much against eating, drinking and using a cell phone in a moving car.
Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again...
by pweber5 - 5/24/07 2:35 PM In reply to: Are you for or against GPS and cell phones in cars? by wcunning
Every time I hear a pro-gadget argument about in-car tech, I always hear, "Well, if you think cell phones are a distraction, then so is the stereo," and it never ceases to irk me. Humans use two different areas of the brain for visual and audio stimuli, and humans aren't very good at multitasking two different functions of the brain. The reason comparing cell phones to a car stereo is silly is because, while the you're using a different part of your brain to listen to your music, there is no interaction required, and thus processing the information isn't taxing. You're already using your eyes for the road, so changing a radio station isn't a big deal--you're already using that part of your brain.
But being on a cell phone requires a lot more brain processing, because you're actually having a conversation and all the interaction that entails. That's a big difference--there was a study that said driving and talking on a cell phone impaired a driver to the same extent as having a blood-alcohol level of .08, or legally intoxicated. It's not because we're not "talented" enough to do it; it's because our brains physically can't max out two different parts of the brain at the same time.
And while I do like GPS navigation systems, I don't care for most of the in-car systems like BMW's iDrive and Mercedes Benz's COMMAND system. While they do succeed in reducing buttons on the dash, the designers apparently have no common sense to know when to stop taking buttons away. Why do I have to navigate down two menus on BMW's iDrive to change the radio station? Couldn't BMW just leave preset buttons and a tuning button on the dash? Sure, navigation *********, radio EQ settings, cell phone settings, and even the seat adjustment could be relegated to the in-car system, but they need to leave very commonly used buttons alone. Otherwise it's a waste of time--what's the point of increasing driver distraction by requiring digging through menus to find how to change the AC fan?
Re: Take Away the Stereo?
by seattleja - 5/30/07 4:52 PM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5No big deal? I beg to differ! I've been rear-ended 4 times; ALL while I was at a complete stop...
1. Older gentleman looked away assuming I was going to fly around a semi-blind corner without stopping and took out my bumper...
2. 40-something guy bozo'd out and totaled my trunk and bumper with his pickup...
3. 40-something guy was fiddling WITH HIS STEREO when his pickup completely totaled the car I was driving...
4. 40-something woman was trying to stop when she hydro-planed into me on a newly rain-slickened, partially flooded road.
So what have we got... assumption, inattentivness, STEREO and a wet road. A caddy, 2 pickups, and a Toyota. 3 men and 1 woman. Gotta say I give men, pickups and stereos my vote!!
Re: Take Away the Stereo
by amckenas - 5/31/07 3:29 AM In reply to: Re: Take Away the Stereo? by seattlejaResearch has shown that loud car stereos cause brain damage. There are already enough brain-dead drivers around! Even more, car stereos that reverberate in MY car from a car a block away are a definite distraction!
90% of statistics are made up on the spot....
by batman823 - 5/31/07 6:42 AM In reply to: Re: Take Away the Stereo by amckenasYes, I just made up that statistic too.
The stereo does not cause brain damage, it causes hearing damage. You won't score lower on an SAT if you listen to music at 120dcb. If you ever say "research has shown" or "studies have been conducted" on this kind of forum, provide a link or quote it. Maybe you should do research on what research has been done.
There are many issues with car stereos. If the music is too loud, you won't be able to hear the siren from the ambulance or police vehicle, or the horn from the car that may bey trying to warn you that you are about to hit them. The added bonus of hearing damage is just one more thing to add to the list of driving distractions. I believe loud car stereos should be illegal for those reasons and many more. There is absolutely no good reason to have three 12" subs and a 15" subwoofer in your trunk as well as the multiple speakers hidden around the passenger compartment.
The main issue with stereos in cars is that people 'fiddle' with them. Just the same distraction as a cell phone, it takes your eyes off of the road and requires more thought process than having a hands-free conversation, let alone the decision-making process associated with finding the music you want to listen to, whether it be picking a CD or finding a decent radio station which simply doesn't exist. the biggest difference between those two distractions is that the stereo 'fiddling' is in shorter durations than the yuppie yakking on the phone glued between one ear and a hand, while driving recklessly at 90mph+ on the freeway.
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