Ban Touch Screens in Cars

I agree that all of these "gadgets" that are in the Prius are only a distraction to the degree that one wants to make them. If you can't deal with the Nav while driving, don't.
One should never allow oneself to lose focus on the road and each individual that is driving is responsible for that. I mean if I wanted to keep staring at the speedometer and nothing else should automakers get rid of speedometers to stop me from doing that?
If I want to stick my head in the glove box while barrelling down the highway should automakers stop putting glove boxes in cars to prevent me from doing that?
Let's outlaw books and magazines in cars, just in case a driver might decide to read while driving.
The Nav and all of the extraneous gadgets on the Prius don't distract the driver without the driver making the choice to be distracted first. There are a trillion things that I can allow myself to be distracted by and I am responsible if I become distracted, not some gadget in the car (barring something like a blinding light that flashes in one's face! B) ).

 

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This is a good reason that I think EVERYONE oughta face one of these for a few hours in their life to put things in perspective...

 

Christ man, how many stereo systems can one plane have!

Seriously though, I thought about making the same reference but I didn't have a cool pic to include.

 

if they're talking about banning touch screens, they'll have to ban billboards and brightly lit signs on the side of the road too... so long, big mcdonalds arches- you make drivers think of food and that takes their mind off the road.

 

Vermont has banned billboards and brightly lit signs on the side of the highways for many years. I very highly recommend it to all.

 

looks complicated but since most of the display is "read-only" gauges and dont directly require interaction...

 

I don't really see the problem. The touch screen is high and I scan the road more easily when I am adjusting climate control or audio functions, if am not doing it by rote on the steering wheel. A heads up display with a interactive display would be best but we are not there yet On other cars some of the controls are close to the floor! Don't tell me that most people are glancing down to adjust the temp, start defrost etc.

 

i dont see anything different with the touch screen verses any manual controls that we have been fiddling with forever... that is if we werent too busy combing our hair, putting on makeup, eating breakfast, disciplining the kids, or talking on the cellphone

 

Putting on makeup, Dave?? :blink:

 

oh ya!!... umm let see... anti-wrinkle cream, some hair color to cover the gray, some of that fake tan stuff for that glowing skin

 

nice rack, priusham =)

 

Obviously Volvo has the right idea. Why not go all the way?

Anyone remember their 'ycc' concept car for this sort of thing?

It only had a couple of items on the dash display, fuel, speedometer, odo, turn indicators, and high beam light as I recall. No other warning lights or indicators. There was a way to turn on more, but by default it was minimalistic.

When something went wrong, the car automatically called the dealer instead of telling you, then the dealer would contact you to bring the car in.

It also had the hood locked down. You couldn't open the hood without special tools. In addition to the fuel filler opening, it also had an opening to add washer fluid. That was the only user service allowed.



They were capless because that was also hard, opening the filler cap and all.

Parking Brake is automatic, no manual option.

Runflat Tires took care of that chore.

Teflon Paint so you don't have to wash it. (Borrowed from New York City Garbage Trucks).

There's no seating adjustment. They use a tool called 'Ergovision' (patent pending) to scan the driver's body at the dealership, then use the data to define the correct individual driving position. It's stored on the driver's key, which, when placed in the center console, it adjusts the seat, steering wheel, pedals, head restraint and seat belt to optimum position and vision.

The problem was, they marketed it as "What Women Want" and said that women wanted all of the details of car operation removed.

In their marketing they made quotes like "most women don't want to view more than just the gas gauge anyway".

That probably wasn't very bright

But, why not? If distraction is an issue, remove all distraction I say!

 

I wouldn't want a car in which every adjustment has to made by the dealer. They already ream you when it comes to something as simple as an oil change. Imagine the service costs for a car like this Volvo.

 

Personally, I love the steering wheel controls. I've learned by feel where each button is so I don't have to look.

Sometimes I do glance at the Energy Monitor a second too long. Mainly to maximize MPG and master the gliding technique. But I'm getting better at maximizing MPG by sound/feel of the CVT, and I'm learning to glide by feel of the accelerator. I suspect that in another 1k miles or so, I won't need the Energy Monitor anymore.

I've also increased my following distance. I don't have to near-stop for traffic as much... plus there's less chance of rear-ending someone because I'm glancing at the MFD.

Bluetooth phone is on my Christmas list.

(And a Stewie bobble-head........)

 

Yes, but you don't normally have hundreds of planes flying within 10 feet next to you, while on the left another hundred planes flying in the opposite direction within 10 feet, and another 100 or more planes potentially crossing your path in both directions again within 10 feet.

If you drift 10 feet or even 30 feet in any direction while you were checking your instrumentation, you would not be likely to hit anything, assuming you can maintain stability. Try drifting 30 feet right or left while driving and see if you don't hit anything. Even in a rural road, you could hit a tree or fence.

 

The energy/consumption monitor is the reason I am much safer in the Prius. I use to drive my SUV at 70 to 80 mph with traffic. Now though, I want that MPG value to rise. To do that, I have slowed down to 52 to 65. I am almost always at about 3 mph below the speed limit. I have increased my following distance too. Mostly because of the people tailgating me! Why is it that people must sit 5 feet of my rear bumper when there is a clear lane or 2 to my left? They don't have an MFD, but they do have a cell phone and no clue what they are doing.

 

Yeap, right on, it's referred to as automaticity. It can happen with just about any task you are familiar with over time. It lets you go on autopilot without causing a wreck. Our brains are still getting all of the necessary sensory input, the high level part just isn't necessary. Now, if you hit a patch of ice or pull onto a busy freeway the high level parts of our brain kick in pretty quick.