Car Tech: Are you for or against GPS and cell phones in cars?
- 5/22/07 5:29 PM
Comment about removing the stereo was lame
by BlueKnight - 5/30/07 5:10 PM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5The operation of a car stereo really can't be compared to using a cell phone or maps, GPS devices etc. Besides, there are more cars with audio controls on the steering wheel these days that you don't even have to take your hands off the wheel. My car is a few years old, but I never have to take my eyes off the road if I want to switch radio stations because of the positioning of the controls. This ought to be one thing everyone checks out when considering to buy a particular car or not... how safe it is with regard to placement of the controls, and not just the stereo system.
Cars don't always have controls on the steering wheel
by batman823 - 5/31/07 6:46 AM In reply to: Comment about removing the stereo was lame by BlueKnightWhile that statement is true, only newer cars, which most people can't afford, have the controls on the steering wheel. I agree that the controls are better being placed there, but it's not really a big beneficial factor yet because most people have too low of an income to spring for a new car just for that convenience. Even on newer cars, that modification doesn't automatically come with the car, it's part of the convenience package that costs an extra $1000-$3000 on most models.
take away stereo
by Tone96 - 5/30/07 8:55 PM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5yeah, i gotta agree. the radio is so not the same as someone being on the phone in a heated argument/discussion and either crawling at a snails pace or speeding along without regard. and whereas im sure that the radio has called some issues, i would be willing to bet money that cell phones have been part of more incidents than radios.
Are you not driving the same roads?
by threehole - 5/30/07 10:09 PM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5I am hoping you are not serious. People on cell phones are so much more dangerous on the road. Stereos can't even compare to having a conversation on a cell phone. People are just not that talented to do 2 things at the same time. Do you think a state like California would put a law into affect that you cannot use a cell phone while your vehicle is moving? I know many other states have the same law or working on implementing it into law. Our own US Government employees can't drive and be on a cell phone. One more thing, people in my family have had accidents being on a cell phone while driving. Get you head out of the clouds and into today...
The Human Brain!
by pbhagirath - 5/31/07 12:41 AM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5As very incorrectly said in this post and the other following that once you are listening to something you just use the part of your brain which is processing sound. If you are listening to something you automatically connect emotions to it. Supposedly if you're listening to a song which you first heard when you met your girlfriend, I think it's pretty obvious you'll get distracted and start forming a mental picture of that time and place. Thus using your "other side" of the brain. I'm not claiming that Car Stereo's are equally dangerous when compared to GPS devices. I have both in my car and have hardly ever been distracted. But the times that I have been distracted was because I was changing the CD or was browsing through the radio stations.
Changing CDs while car in movement?
by drpepperz - 5/31/07 5:28 AM In reply to: The Human Brain! by pbhagirathChanging CDs while the car is moving is as the same as wiggling a loaded gun with the trigger on your fingers. That's the most stupid thing that someone can do in a car. If you are deciding a million dollar contract with your boss over the cellphone while driving at 80 mph, is stupid as well.
uhhh, I believe you DO need ears to drive too.
by kcrlshell - 5/31/07 5:53 AM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5While I agree that cell phones do pose a greater risk, I'm really tired of people who think they don't need ears to drive. Oh it's fine out on the interstate while driving through corn fields to enjoy some music, but in traffic...well your ears are basically the eyes in the back of your head. How many times has an emergency vehicle "snuck up" on you? I hear them coming... and that's just ONE instance where hearing comes in handy.
Another thought on that thought
by tchristoff - 5/31/07 8:17 AM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5While reading your post I got to thinking. I rarely talk on the cell in the car, but when I do, if something happens on the road that (heh, heh) distracts me from my conversation, I totally tune out the converstation. I have to have them repeat what they were saying, because I didn't hear it. I assume the reverse is true (at least for me); if I am engrossed in the conversation, I probably tune out what's on the road. While I'm not against necessary brief cell use, why is it 90% of the idiots I get frustrated with (driving well below the speed limit, not turning when there is plenty of space, switching lanes when there is already someone there, etc.) are on the phone?
More to think about on another thought on that thought.
by luidafly - 8/29/07 2:15 PM In reply to: Another thought on that thought by tchristoffreading your comments made even more sense and you're right on the speed issue it seems the more engrossed talkers on cellphones (some not all) seem to get the more the speed reduces and road sense leaves the playing field. I particularly like the ones that actaully have to look into the phone and have to gesture with their hands as well. A more worrying factor is now creeping in here as well, especially with the new GPS's that now have built in MP3's and video viewers.
My luck, driving home a couple of weeks ago, I came up behind another vehicle that was weaving in and out of his lane seemed to me the driver could have been on the verge of dozing or have been intoxicated. Pulling up alongside this GOOSE at a set of traffic light I found that this fool, with a death wish for himself and others on the road, was actualy watching a movie while driving. What a JERK. I wonder if he might be watching "the last goodbye" when he leaves this life taking possibly some poor family or whoever else with him. This is the sort of totally uncaring selfish type that seems to set a precedent to new laws being itroduced when most do the right thing.
what about passengers?
by the_wme - 5/31/07 8:22 AM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5I'll grant that a stereo is not a good comparison to a cell phone. Each can be distracting, but in different ways. What I wonder that people don't compare cell phone usage to is talking to someone else in the car. Is there any reason to believe it's more distracting to talk on the phone than it is to talk to a passenger? (Notice I said more... both are distracting. Heck, lots of things are distracting, but you can't outlaw all of them, e.g. having kids in the car.) At least with the cell phone you don't have a physical person to distract you, while with passengers you're probably swiveling your head now and then to address the other person. So if you don't dial while driving, and use a hands free device (or not... who drives with both hands anyway, and it's really easy to drop the phone in an emergency... a lot easier than dropping a cup of coffee, for comparison's sake, so should we outlaw drinking coffee while driving?) what's the problem with talking on a cell phone while driving?
Other Person In Car
by frollo17 - 8/29/07 1:22 PM In reply to: what about passengers? by the_wmeI actually find another person in the car with me MUCH more distracting than a cell phone.
However, I have read that studies do not bear this out (no, I don't have a reference offhand - some safety mag or 'nother). The people analyzing the data were speculating that passengers typically reacted to what was going on around the car so they shut up when the driver got in situations that required more concentration....
You said it -- human brains are not good at multi-tasking
by MichieS - 5/31/07 9:41 AM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5-- REGARDLESS WHERE it gets the inputs. ONE task at A TIME -- do your research before trying to use that 'excuse' to justify that is OK to use the stereo.
>> ....and humans aren't very good at multitasking two different functions of the brain....comparing cell phones to a car stereo is silly ......is because, ... there is no interaction required...<<
The latter part of your statement is purely WRONG.
So -- listening to SOMETHING extraneous (like stereo) is distracting to the brain.
Add to mix that most 'stereo' users simply haven't control of their senses, there's more trouble. (Witness the 'listeners' who are bouncing and rocking around in their car, and even singing -- while the loud 'music' escapes into the surrounding cars.)
Baloney
by cpa4601 - 5/31/07 2:18 PM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5I am so tired of this argument I could scream. For most people using a hands-free cell phone while driving is just not an issue. Fumbling with a handheld phone, trying to dial and drive, is another story.
I don't understand why the argument is always about cell phone or no cell phone rather than handheld or hands free.
Yes, here we go again
by Andy77e - 6/9/07 9:52 PM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5You get bent, fine. However that doesn't change the fact a car I was driving was totalled because of a guy with a stereo. "I was changing stations and... well there you were" That was what he said. He pushed my car into another car, and that car into another. One stereo damaged 3 cars, one being totalled (which was mine).
I said it before, I'll say it again. If your going to ban phones because "they are a distraction" then by the logic you have to ban stereos too. Don't give me that "different part of the brain" garbage because I was hit. So it must not matter much cause I have a totalled car because of it.
In fact, out of the 3 accidents I can remember, none were because of a phone, or food. But just about everything else.
Sorry, doesn't seem relevent to me
by Andy77e - 6/16/07 1:10 PM In reply to: Take Away the Stereo? Here We Go Again... by pweber5>>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. <<
I hear you, and... well disagree. Two of the accidents I've been in were because of stereos are passengers. You can state whatever side point you want... but I was hit by a guy messing with a stereo, and another distracted by a passenger in the car. So far, no one has hit me because of a phone.
So... if you are going to ban one form of distract over another form of distraction... then it becomes less about safety and more about your personal war over something you specificaly, do not like. And if that's all this is about then who cares?
On the other hand, if it is about safety, then if we should ban one form of distraction, we should ban them all. I don't mind people having an opinion, but you should at least be logically accurate in your beliefs. If your going to apply it in one case and refuse to do so in others, then your just hipocritical. My distractions are ok, your distractions are bad. You can't have your phone in your car, but my 1 trillian Giga-watt stereo that sets off car alarms in a 5 sq/mile area, is of course, NOT a distraction.
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