Texting And Driving

The UK is looking into banning even hands-free phone use while driving.

 

Yes, there have been plenty of studies showing just talking on the phone (or car) using a hands-free system detract drivers' attention away. Let me see if I can find the thread.

Edit: I found the thread on this topic I started while ago.
Do you talk to your car or smartphone??? | PriusChat

 

Are they looking to ban "infotainment" unit in vehicles too?

 

i'd like to see tech that doesn't allow anything distracting to the driver whilst the car is moving

 

Cars with touch screen displays are one of the most distracting and dangerous features manufacturers have brought to market. They force you to take your eyes off the road in order to make any adjustments to the radio, climate controls, etc . They should be band and force the manufacturers to go back to designs that are more visceral and intuitive.
Even the Prius is guilty of using touch controls that require you to take your eye off the road. Even the switches are blended into the surfaces so that you have to search for them by eye.
IMHO, all cars should be equipped with voice command technology like Siri or something similar.

 

If the lame system in the Prime is an example of the technology, I'll pass.

 

I agree that these closely spaced similar buttons for unrelated functions are nearly as dangerous as putting them on a touch screen. The fact that the corresponding displays are often difficult to see compounds the problem. They should be banned, but not "band."

 

This is likely a major contributor to the recent surge in deaths by motor vehicle.

These deaths had generally been falling since the peak of the late-1960s - early-1970s, getting down to the 35,000 per year range from 2010-14. But then it starting climbing, faster than can be explained by increased driving. Preliminary 2018 figures show these deaths topping 40,000 for the third consecutive year:

Fatality Estimates

2018 Third Consecutive Year of at Least 40,000 Motor Vehicle Deaths -- Occupational Health & Safety

Final official 2018 figures are still months away (December this year or January next year, if recent years are a guideline.)

 

Thanks! The English language is a bare...bear...bayer! They’re so many ways to fowl it up.

 

anytime your sitting at a light, just look at the driver across the intersection, and the one behind you, it's so obvious.
what drives me batty is people waiting to pull into traffic. you slow down to let them in, wave, flash your lights and whatever, but their eyes are staring at their lap

 

Some mechanical controls are a close second: they too can be difficult to use, let alone differentiate.

If you need to take your eyes off the road to do anything basic, that's a fail. I'm not happy with our 2010's anolog dash, just tolerate it. It's pretty much impossible to safely adjust something like vent mode, on a windy road.

It is not hard to design an ergonomic, eyes-on-the-road control system. Most of them look a little dated, maybe that's why they've fallen out of favour? Manufacturers think buyers won't be impressed?

 

part of the problem is the consumers desire for change. if there was a best practice, and consumers demanded it, all cars would have the same controls.
you see it all the time in car reviews, with praise of clean lines in the dash area

 

That will not happen. The location of controls is generally standardized in the US (blinkers on left, etc.), but you will never get car buyers to agree on what a single controls layout should be. Much of that is personal choice.

We had a 1970's Peugeot 504 with the blinkers on the right stalk - that took a day or two to get used to.

There has been consumer demand for return of some knobs on entertainment panels - Honda has returned them through most of their line.

Edit - there are likely a few exterior colors that are less likely to be involved in accidents, but you won't find people amenable to buying those colors if they don't like the color.

 

agreed. it would take an act of congress, as they say

 

They would ban most of the distracting Gen 4 full-screen popups. I do not need a full screen popup to alert me the radar cruise sees the car in front of me!

 

When I see someone stopped in front of me looking it down at their phone at intersections and light turns green, I used to tap my horn once quickly. Now one tap won’t get their attention so I hold horn down until they startle and begin to go then let go of horn.