The proliferation of in-car entertainment technologies -- Internet routers, smartphone links, MP3 connections, capacitive touch screens, etc. -- are great for selling cars, but they have sparked a serious debate about driver distraction.
That leads to the question: If safety is so important, why are automakers putting these features in vehicles at all?
It's a good question. The same thought apparently occurred to the people at the National Transportation Safety Board, which in December called for the "first-ever nationwide ban on portable electronic devices" -- including cellphones -- for drivers.
Autonet Mobile's in-car router lets occupants surf the Web while the car is moving.
Source: GM
"According to NHTSA [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration], more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents," NTSB chairwoman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a press release. "It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices while driving."
However, the proposal was virtually dead on arrival. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood gave it an almost immediate thumbs-down. Auto blogs generally disliked the concept. "Even LaHood thinks the NTSB mobile electronics ban is flawed," autoblog.com wrote. And radio call-in shows were flooded with calls from unhappy listeners, many of whom were probably phoning in from their cars.
And that, in a nutshell, answers our readers' question about why automakers keep adding these features. Auto executives understand what consumers want. They know how important cellphones are to a segment of the buying public. And no one wants to be the one who took a backward technological step, even if it is for the sake of safety.
"You've got a pull coming from the market and a pushback coming from the government agencies, and the manufacturers are in the middle, trying to figure out what to do," David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Auto Research, told us in an interview.
and then you see the folks with the push to talk phones holding the phone in one hand, talking and attempting to make a left hand turn that requires all four lanes of the intersection since they can't steer hand over hand. Signaling? Not likely.
My observation is, I am following a car in fast lane that suddenly for no apparent reason the driver slows down by 10~15 mph and maybe weaves a little but continues in fast lane. When I pull to right and pass I observe driver is on cell phone. My conclusion is that, unconsciously the cell phone user recognizes they are driving while distracted and they slow down.
Even before cell phones their were distractions. Ive seen drivers reading the paper, eating, putting on makeup and once I saw a driver making out while driving. All those are aside from the battery of controls that distract the driver from his/her primary job of driving the car. Adding another layer of distraction isn't a good thing. Perhaps voice activated controls and true hands free commmunications are all we can hope for, but it won't keep silly people from doing silly things while driving.
I'm surprised to hear that about Toyota, Chuck. Seems like intrusion into the customer's ability to run the device -- even if it does improve safety. It sounds like that also would hamper a front-seat passenger's ability to utilize the system. Or maybe there's an override for passenger operation.
Toyota says that their EnTune system won't let the driver go two steps deep into the menu. Beyond that, they say, you have to pull over. We'll need to check that out.
Yes, it seems that the dash electronics are getting complicated enough that you really need to pull off to the side of the road before using the CUE system.
Interestingly, Rob, the Cadillac CUE system is the least distracting that I've seen. I guess the lesson is that it's getting harder to incorporate all this stuff and still maintain safety.
Nice video, Chuck. Now that's distracting. That has to be at least up there with dialing a cellphone number. And I can't imagine drivers pulling off the road just to change a radio station. That visual screen is far more distracting than the memory buttons on older radios.
That's interesting, Chuck, that they address safety when introducing the distracting items. Does that also include suggested use? Do they indicate that some of these devices need to be used/adjusted when the car is at a stop?
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