Posted on 10/05/2017 11:08:03 AM PDT by Impala64ssa
A new study from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that infotainment centers included in the dashboards of our cars are causing more distracted driving.
The AAA study found that the technology built into the car including voice or touch screen navigation can distract drivers from the road for more than 40 seconds.
Out of the 30 new 2017 models that were tested, 2/3 of them had built-in technology systems that were rated as "highly" distracting.
Here in Connecticut, AAA found men admitted to being distracted far more often than women, and men tend to use technology more often for directions than women.
And you may not even realize how distracted you are, even if you feel you're a safe driver.
When driving at 25 miles per hour, you can travel the length of four football fields during the time it could take to enter a destination into the navigation system.
Out of the 30 cars tested, none of them received an acceptable score, meaning, all of the systems demanded the driver's attention away from the road for an extensive amount of time.
The tested cars and their demand levels on drivers’ attention are as follows. are as follows:
Audi Q7 QPP – Very High Demand Cadillac XT5 – High Demand Chevrolet Equinox LT – Moderate Demand Chevrolet Traverse LT – High Demand Dodge Durango GT – Very High Demand Dodge Ram 1500 – High Demand Ford F250 XLT – Moderate Demand Ford Fusion Titanium – High Demand Ford Mustang GT – Very High Demand GMC Yukon SLT – Very High Demand Honda Civic Touring – Very High Demand Honda Ridgeline RTL-E – Very High Demand Hyundai Santa Fe Sport – Moderate Demand Hyundai Santa Fe Sport – High Demand Hyundai Sonata Base – High Demand Infiniti Q50 Premium – High Demand Jeep Compass Sport – High Demand Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited – High Demand Kia Sorento LX – High Demand Lincoln MKC Premiere – Moderate Demand Mazda3 Touring – Very High Demand Nissan Armada SV – Very High Demand Nissan Maxima SV - High Demand Subaru Crosstrek Premium – Very High Demand Tesla Model S – Very High Demand Toyota Camry SE – Moderate Demand Toyota Corolla SE – Moderate Demand Toyota Rav 4 XLE – High Demand Toyota Sienna XLE – Moderate Demand Volvo XC60 T5 Inscription – Very High Demand
I am generally not in favor of ONE MORE LAW or REGULATION to restrict ANYBODY’S freedom.
But I just can’t stand to watch ONE MORE BIT of STUPIDITY involving motor vehicles and cell phones.
It’s like running an absolute gauntlet to try and get home. Two weeks back I saw a gray-haired, well past 40 woman who was surfing Tinder on a window-mounted iPhone as the car cruised along at 45 MPH.
The offenders are overwhelmingly female, and for the most part drive expensive vehicles.
Those Trunk Monkey ads were/are laugh out loud funny. Still available on youtube.
What’s wrong with Presta valves?!
No bobble heads!
Pedestrians who jaywalk or who saunter across crosswalks paying no attention to traffic and expecting drivers to see them and stop or slow down are even bigger Darwin Award candidates these days. They are relying on drivers to be watching the road at all times. Good luck with that!
I just sold my 2000 Z71 Tahoe and bought a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee with all the bells and whistles. I have to admit there is some truth to this.
One of these days some sharp shyster is going to make a case that these devises and their placement constitute what would be termed in legal parlance an “attractive nuisance”. A jury is going to buy it and billions will subsequently be paid out.
OK
which is it?
Hyundai Santa Fe Sport:moderate or
extremely distracting ??
My car doesn’t allow destination programming unless car is in Park.
In other words a passenger cannot program a destination.
“Pedestrians who jaywalk or who saunter across crosswalks paying no attention to traffic and expecting drivers to see them and stop or slow down are even bigger Darwin Award candidates “
Minority pedestrians do this on purpose in downtown Cleveland!
My 2001 Highlander has none of this stuff. What a great car!
Well, good luck to them when some driver is fiddling with the dashboard or center console controls as they mow them down.
Amen! I dropped my 9-year old car off at the dealer for brake service and they gave me a 2017 loaner with that damned touch-screen. You have to glance at it and hope you hit the right little square to change stations, all the while bumping on the road. Gimmie my old car with the tactile physical buttons!
The thing about GPS built into the dashboard/radio console of the new cars is that it is to far away from where I driver is looking unless it is a flip up type GPS screen from the dashboard if they exist. Basically to take ones eyes off of the road to look at the GPS from where they are on the new car takes to many seconds, basically too long. It would be far safer to just buy a GPS and mount it on the windshield where the driver doesn’t have to take his eyes off the road to far just to look at it.
Actually, I find the ‘infotainment’ in my new Chevy Malibu to be quite an improvement. Press the button, say “Play Kamelot” or “Navigate to (destination)”, etc. Pushbuttons on the steering wheel for volume and track control. Very nice.
Never mind that the Bose speaker system is ... an acoustic delight.
I’ll take that over the old 3.5mm jack anyday.
This is why I buy stripped down trucks. No carpet, no cruise control, no electric windows, no navigation, etc. Just a radio and air conditioning. The less I have is the less that distracts me and the less that breaks down.
I have a degree in computer science and I'd advise everyone renting a car to figure out how to turn on the wipers, and how to blow the horn, and how to turn on the lights before even pulling out of the rental lot.
Not to mention adjusting the mirrors and the seat position.
I have some stripped down rides in different states of reassembly.
Simple is better in automotive land.
I remember reading that when radios started appearing in cars (Motorola BTW started by Bill Lear of LearJet fame. He also developed the 8 track car stereo player. Also named his daughter Crystal Shanda.) many states tried to outlaw car radios because they were a distraction.
What goes around, comes around.
Oh,yeah I remember 8 tracks. A few of mine got “carsick “ and would unravel inside the tape deck. When I was a kid a friend of my Dad who was some record company exec had a car phone in his Mercedes 280 roadster. It was a Motorola with a handset attached to it and took up half the seat. It cost $1/minute to yak on those things back in the 60’s,so only VIP’S had them.
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