Car Tech: Are you for or against GPS and cell phones in cars?
- 5/22/07 5:29 PM
Get a grip
by vasmith1 - 6/1/07 7:51 PM In reply to: get a grip by KuanYin7You must be like the people I have seen driving around with their children sitting on their lap or in a car seat without the straps secured. I have also seen dogs sitting on drivers laps. There are legitimate reasons for having children in a car properly secured and of course it is necessary to transport them. But it is not necessary to use a cel phone while driving. Talking on a phone is not a necessary part of driving. Paying full attention to driving is!
dump your assumption
by Andy77e - 6/5/07 5:04 PM In reply to: Get a grip by vasmith1"you must be..." you have no clue what he's like and that's a crap way to answer.
I've seen *many* parents turn around in their seat because their child was chucking stuff from their child safety seat. It's very dangerous to do that. So what would you like, a law against children in cars? Or rear child safety seats? Or ban people from turning around in their chairs? Let's see police enforce that one. "Sir I think I saw you turn in your chair, that's against the law"
The point, AGAIN, is that you can't ban everything that's a distraction. You can only make people accountable for their actions.
And for the record, I really really hate pre-judging self-rightous types who start a whole post based on their assumption of a person they have never met.
cell phones in cars
by papajohn70322 - 5/31/07 10:18 AM In reply to: Driver-in-command by treet007should be against the law in all states
Driving distractions
by stahu - 5/31/07 11:54 AM In reply to: Driver-in-command by treet007You sound like one of a very small percentage of responsible drivers. You say each driver must know his limits, but I had a FATHER that thought he could handle the car even when he was drunk.
I once observed a woman reading a book in the middle of the steering wheel while she was driving. Even the buttons on modern car radio's are too many and small to read easily. Throw in cell phones, GPS, drugs and booze and it's enough to give you the shivers.
Among other vehicles I drive, I ride a motorcycle that is bright yellow, wear a bright yellow jacket with a yellow and black striped helmet use high beam headlights in daylight, and STILL I was following this car that hit the brakes hard to make a left turn. I hit my brakes an was not in danger of hitting him, but the guy behind me must not have been paying attention. He didn't hit me, but I heard his tires howling on the pavement, I get nightmares yet of being squished between a trunk and a radiator.
People, PLEASE just drive and leave ALL of the distractions at home where they belong. Who knows, you might be the next victim of some IDIOT not paying attention!
GPS in cars
by oso_online - 6/1/07 7:41 AM In reply to: Driving distractions by stahuDrivers that allow for distractions will allow for them whether its a gps cellphone map quest or #5 go big from your local fast food restaurant. Statistically people handle distraction proportionately equal throughout their lives meaning as new things are added they will be distracted equally by them and there is no way to legislate a person to distract less.
There is absolutely no chance gps and map programs will be removed from cars.
You can't legislate common sense
by IronManCurtis - 5/31/07 9:02 PM In reply to: Driver-in-command by treet007Should conversation with the driver be illegal? Playing the radio/tape/CD? Bringing groceries home? Parallel parking? Backing out of a driveway? Getting on the freeway? Eating? Drinking a soda? I have witnessed every one of these done in an unsafe manner. People who can't converse without looking at the person they're addressing, fiddling with the car stereo and ignoring traffic, etc.
And yet most people can handle these things with aplomb while driving.
The answer is not to outlaw things that bad drivers can't handle. For each frivolous thing we outlaw, bad drivers will find ten more to endanger our lives, well-being, and property. Outlawing things that are abused by the lower 5% punishes the rest of us, and fails to address the real problem, drivers who lack common sense.
Attack the problem. Revoke licenses of bad drivers. Make it harder to get and keep a drivers license.
The problem with cellphones isn't cellphones. It's consumer ignorance. Most people treat them like landline telephones. A second of silence and it's "..... hello??? are you there?...". Part of this can be squarely laid at the feet of cellular providers. When they drop a call, the phone should audibly indicate this. Instead, they leave us talking to nobody, adding to cellphone anxiety and inducing yet more hazardous behavior amongst the cellularly clueless.
I fail to see the problem with GPS. It TELLS you where to turn, and warns you well in advance. I'll take my GPS and laptop any day over fumbling with my Thomas Brothers map book while driving for safety and ease of operation. If you need to type in a destination while driving, I can prove that you will save time by pulling over to do it, between typo's and time lost while driving like a dolt.
-Mike
No concern or consideration for the safety of others.
by beaulanger - 6/1/07 7:16 PM In reply to: Driver-in-command by treet007I've had people run their grocery carts into me while chatting on their cell phones. Out in the grocery parking lot I saw a woman speeding through in a huge SUV chatting wildly with a cigarette in one hand and the phone in the other.
Unfortunately cell phones his is just part of the problem of our society today. No one cares about anybody else. Don't get me started on obnoxiously loud Harleys and boom box punks.
Driver in Command
by nupright - 6/2/07 1:56 PM In reply to: Driver-in-command by treet007As a former pilot and busniss person. Any Aids such as GPS and Cell Phones are an asset which like every thing Techinical must be used properly and people trained in their use or they should not be allowed to use them. If for example you have someone else in a vechile
that can watch for you or you can listen to the voice commands with out looking at the screen is a wonderfull device which I used in Florida in early January and kept me out of many wrong turns etc.
Now with cell phones I use them as an emergency device and will not
answer them while droving and most of the time have them shut off and this way the message goes to voice mail which I answer when I have stopped. Its like every thing else it requires training or the second thought would be to have these items licenced for their use.
Thnak you for the chance to voice my opinion.
Neil Upright
10 Daniel Place
St. Albert, Alberta T8N 5P6
Canada
nuprigh1@telus.net
Cellphones
by themouser - 6/5/07 9:02 PM In reply to: Driver-in-command by treet007Cellphone should only be used in emergencies. I see people all the time using them like they were attached to their ears permanently. They also cause many near accidents. While they are on the phone, they are not paying attention to the road. I for one, think cell phone were they worst invention around. The GPS is for directions. They should not be looking at pictures or videos on the road while driving. Same goes for those DVD players. Fine for the kids, but not for the driver to watch while driving. Save the News or that game for when you get home or are on the side of the road please.
Car phones and GPS'S - you have mixed an apple and an orange
by marpincan - 6/20/07 8:00 AM In reply to: Driver-in-command by treet007From what I have seen on the road, a cell phone does nothing but distract the driver from doing what he should be which is driving. A GPS on the other hand if used properly actually aids the driver. It is quite distractive to drive and look at a road map or written directions while trying to navigate your car. A gps on the other hand makes it much easier and takes the confusion out of getting from location A to location B. IMO Talking on Cell phones while in cars should be out lawed. Hands free would be the exception I would look at since it is not much different than having a conversation with a pasanger. GPS'S on the other hand should be encouraged as they actually aid the driving experience. I am not sure why the dumb politicians have not already outlawed talking on cell phones while driving as the evidence of the problems this causes is quite clear. I guess it is because the words politicians and dumb go together quite well. - LOL - Have a good day.
Very much against
by Rick Cavaretti - 5/24/07 8:31 AM In reply to: Are you for or against GPS and cell phones in cars? by wcunning
This reminds me of when the German engineers first came over after the now failed Chrysler purchase to check things out. They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw a CUP HOLDER in an automobile! The automobile was no place to eat or drink in their world. Both your hands and all of your attention belong on the road. Any distraction that takes away from the driving experience is a NO NO. Their rational was the following: "Is there a steering wheel on your coffee table? Then why should there be a cup holder in your car?"
Apparently they were impressed...
by BlueKnight - 5/30/07 4:56 PM In reply to: Very much against by Rick CavarettiYou'll notice that German cars do in fact have cup holders.
Speaking of Cup Holders.....
by tyaughton - 5/30/07 6:20 PM In reply to: Apparently they were impressed... by BlueKnightI recently purchased a new car, and one on the list to check out was the Pontiac Solstice. It was the placement of the cup holder that scratched it off the list. Feature this - in a two seater, the cupholders are in the centre console BEHIND the driver's seat! Having wrapped my car around someone else's fender many years ago because I was trying to wedge a coffee cup, the holder is mandatory in all my vehicles, but the coffee is usually cold by the time I get to where I'm going.
Yes, I use a celphone while driving, but only for incoming calls, and I have a wireless earbud so both hands stay on the wheel. Conversations are short and to the point - but I have seen people juggling with their phones, coffee cups and gearshifts (that one was truly scary!) while going down the road.
Learning from mistakes?
by monobeg - 5/30/07 6:46 PM In reply to: Speaking of Cup Holders..... by tyaughtonHm. It would seem to me that if you've already had one accident attributed to drinking in the car, the smart response isn't to look for a better drink holder!
CELL PHONES
by wygifi - 5/30/07 9:03 PM In reply to: Speaking of Cup Holders..... by tyaughtonIn the beginning many years ago when I got my first cell phones I was amazed at the crazy way people were tallking on the cell phone. I am like the last post that I only take incoming calls and it the call is going to be nore than about 30 seconds I pull off the road. If I find it necessary to make a cell call when driving I move out of the flowing traffic and stop some where. I constantly end up behind some at a lihjt and when it turns green the driver is talking on the phone. By the time I honk and they get off or put down the phone there is only enough time left on the green light for the one car ahead of me to get through the light.
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