This writer has been getting steadily more uneasy about the proliferation of distractions in and around the dashboard and controls of our cars, writes Brian Byrne.
Well, folks, it's not going to get better. Now, Toyota and Panasonic are showcasing a prototype system by which you'll not just be managing your car from the driver's seat, but also your home.
The idea is that if you've forgotten to turn on the washing machine, or not turned off the cooker or the heating, you can fix things up remotely by buttons (more buttons) on your steering wheel or centre screen.
It's a cloud-based telematics service that the companies claim 'will make life easier and less stressful' by letting people keep tabs on and operate their home appliances from the wheel of their car.
Look, I think already it's gone beyond 'whoa' time. Now we need to emergency crash this wholesale idiocy into a safety barrier before it all starts crashing into other cars and people.
All for the sake of having a bit more technology in your offering than the competitor has. Look, it's really simple. When you get behind the wheel of a car, your job is to drive that car, safely and with full attention.
Wondering about which channel to set the TV to record on, from the middle of moving traffic, is not concentrating on the car, the road, and all the other things that are part of getting your journey done safely.
Call me a crank, if you like. But, crankily or not, it just isn't right.
Showing posts with label distraction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label distraction. Show all posts
9 June 2014
13 March 2014
RSA organises Driver Distraction conference
An international conference on Driver Distraction will take place in Dublin Castle on Thursday next, writes Brian Byrne.
The event has been organised by the Road Safety Authority and will focus on the impacts of driver distraction in relation to new technologies.
The conference, which takes place between 9.30am-3pm has as guest speakers Professor John D. Lee, University of Wisconsin, Professor Charles Spence, University of Oxford, Dr Claudia Wege, Volvo, Francesco Mitis, World Health Organisation, Michelle Kuckelman, AT&T, Velma Burns, RSA, and Charlie Bird, Broadcaster, Journalist, and television documentary producer, who will present a short film on mobile phones and driving.
Among the talk titles are Defining driver distraction, Driver distraction: the Irish driver's perspective, Neuroscience-inspired multisensory design to enhance safety on the road, and Launching a Movement: AT&T’s Campaign to End Texting & Driving.
The conference will be opened by the Minister for Transport & Tourism, Leo Varadker TD.
Note: The Irish Motoring Writers Association organised a seminar on driver distraction and new technology last August, assisted by Continental.
The event has been organised by the Road Safety Authority and will focus on the impacts of driver distraction in relation to new technologies.
The conference, which takes place between 9.30am-3pm has as guest speakers Professor John D. Lee, University of Wisconsin, Professor Charles Spence, University of Oxford, Dr Claudia Wege, Volvo, Francesco Mitis, World Health Organisation, Michelle Kuckelman, AT&T, Velma Burns, RSA, and Charlie Bird, Broadcaster, Journalist, and television documentary producer, who will present a short film on mobile phones and driving.
Among the talk titles are Defining driver distraction, Driver distraction: the Irish driver's perspective, Neuroscience-inspired multisensory design to enhance safety on the road, and Launching a Movement: AT&T’s Campaign to End Texting & Driving.
The conference will be opened by the Minister for Transport & Tourism, Leo Varadker TD.
Note: The Irish Motoring Writers Association organised a seminar on driver distraction and new technology last August, assisted by Continental.
13 December 2011
Smartphones not so smart for pedestrian impacts
An estimated one in ten pedestrians crossing the road are putting themselves and others at risk, writes Brian Byrne, because they use mobile devices to text or listen to music.
That's the view of Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby, who has conducted his own observations. Thing is, there are no official figures about this aspect of traffic-related injuries, and motorists mostly get the blame.
"The worst part about this is that the statistics are not just under-reported, they are not reported at all, so we don't know how many accidents or deaths have occurred because someone was distracted by their phone or iPod," Mr Scruby told the Australian Courier-Mail newspaper. "It just goes down as a pedestrian being hit."
He said that when people were distracted by mobile phones they 'behave like sheep' and follow others on to the road without looking.
Paramedics who have to treat the injured and police who have to follow up the incidents both say it is difficult to get true statistics because the people involved don't admit that they were using the phone at the time they were involved in the collisions with cars, bicycles and other pedestrians.
That's the view of Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby, who has conducted his own observations. Thing is, there are no official figures about this aspect of traffic-related injuries, and motorists mostly get the blame.
"The worst part about this is that the statistics are not just under-reported, they are not reported at all, so we don't know how many accidents or deaths have occurred because someone was distracted by their phone or iPod," Mr Scruby told the Australian Courier-Mail newspaper. "It just goes down as a pedestrian being hit."
He said that when people were distracted by mobile phones they 'behave like sheep' and follow others on to the road without looking.
Paramedics who have to treat the injured and police who have to follow up the incidents both say it is difficult to get true statistics because the people involved don't admit that they were using the phone at the time they were involved in the collisions with cars, bicycles and other pedestrians.
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