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In-Car Navigation Systems Too Distracting?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the don't-look-at-the-light dept.

Lam1969 writes "A survey released by an insurance company shows that drivers with in-car navigation systems are more likely to lose concentration than drivers who unfold a map while driving. From the article: 'One in 10 motorists with navigation systems set off on their journeys without bothering to program their route, and more than half admitted that they then had to take their eyes off the road to input the details while driving. Nearly one in eight did not even bother to check out a route they were unfamiliar with and simply relied on the technology to get them to their destination.'"

3 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. This is true for any in-car device... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    This is true for any device used in the car such as phones, swapping CDs, adjusting seats, playing with mirrors, etc.

    Many car manufacturers are moving towards what BMW has done for the last few model years with in-dash navigation systems: restricting input to when the car is in park. This makes inputing an address to be very troublesome especially when a passenger can do it but it prevents situations like these.

    1. Re:This is true for any in-car device... by Jaime2 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Mine won't let you do anything that requires concentration like typing an address unless you have the emergency brake on. You can set the destination to one of the six predefined memory points, change the zoom, and change the display (brightness, contrast, night mode) while driving. It's the OEM model for Toyota and Lexus although I have it in a Honda.

  2. Re:A shift in driving by chefmonkey · · Score: 4, Informative

    If it's a Toyota nav system (and the five "quick stop" things sounds like it is) -- at least, from 2004 on -- your passenger can override the lock-out by doing the following:

    - Go to the map menu screen
    - Select "volume"
    - Tap the upper-left corner then the lower-left corner; repeat three times.
    - On the screen that pops up, press and hold "override" until it beeps
    - Tap "back"

    Now, until you turn the car off, your passenger should be able to use the nav system just fine. You will need to select "guide" after selecting your route, since it will no longer automatically start guiding you when the car starts rolling.