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In-Car Navigation Systems Too Distracting?
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.'"
OK, completely different technology. Similar premise. On vacation with my parents last December... My dad has a new Prius hybrid. He was so worried about that magic display in the center of the dash that showed his real time gas milegae that he was a damn hazard on the road. I very smoothly asked if I could drive the mighty hybrid for a while, much to his chagrin I drove us home most of the way from the airport and completely blew off the gas mileage statistics.
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.
This is different how? Compared to people just using Mapquest to get where they need to be.
In fact, I'm responding to this post on my in car computeY$#YKGRdsfgsm;sd;mgf.
...every single item mentioned in the article that applied to GPS Navigation systems could be applied to conventional maps, at least with a GPS Navigation system it could talk to you without you having to look at it (Tom Tom http://www.tomtom.com/ for instance). Then it would take your eyes away from it and on the road where it belongs.
However you do navigate, you must plan ahead.
-My $.02
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.
We need a more active accident avoidance system and other systems to reduce the need for driver intervention. If the driver wants to be less involved in the act of driving, the vehicle will naturally need to take up the slack.
This kind of problem could actually be a good thing. It could usher in the era of on-windshield semi-transparent projected displays that allow you to keep your eyes closer to the road.
That, and you could mod it to display a perfect set of breasts that bounced very lifelike whenever the vehicle went over a bump. Now there's something I would buy. Ok so that's just a pipe dream... well whatever, I still want the projected display on the windshield damn you!
I do not respond to cowards. Especially anonymous ones.
"Study Finds Stupid People More Likely to Kill Others When Driving"
And this gem:
Heavens! Relying on Technology! Burn them at the stake!
Ye, Gods.
i'd argue that cell phones are worse. In the past year I've had some close calls with other cars on many occasions. When I glance at the driver 9 out of 10 of them were people yapping away on their cell phones, usually forgetting to turn their heads left, right, and/or behind them. I find myself cursing at these people helplessly from inside my car. nevertheless, anything on the dash can be distracting, ESPECIALLY a brightlit 7 inch screen with moving things on it. I took a roadtrip with a buddy using my laptop for GPS (i was the trip's navigator). I told my friend(the driver) to keep his eyes on the road while I told him where to turn based on the GPS nav(in addition to the computer voice in case he missed it.) Yet, Every few minutes or so I'd catch him glancing down at the laptop screen on my lap instead of paying attention to the 18 wheeler in front of us. Luckily I caught him most of the time and nothing happened but it's reallly easy to see just how dangerous distractions can be on the road.
The problem today isn't all the gadgets we have to help us get where we're going, it is the fact that we simply don't have time to do a good job of going anywhere, any time, with any help (or none).
We're being inundated with ways of multi-tasking before we have established the abilities to off-load the major task - that of keeping ourselves and the rest of those around us alive to actually get where we're wanting/needing to be.
We should leave all these distractions (people in the next seat, cell-phones, books on tape, talk-radio, TV, fancy guidance systems, etc.) out of the vehicle until such time as the vehicle can do the driving while we do the rest.
Been there, done that, paid for the T-shirt
and didn't get it
My in-laws have a Chevrolet Trailblazer with the nav system. You cannot access any of the menus or buttons while the car is moving. Even the passenger cannot override the system. Since auto manufacturers typically reuse systems like this through out all their cars, presumably all Chevyrolet models are in the same...er...boat.
Is it really so surprising that navigation systems (and cell phones, and anything else that is not driving) serves to distract the driver from the important task of keeping their eyes on the road, and their concentration on keeping their car from impacting some other object?
If they didn't want to introduce that hazard, they should have designed the system to blank the screen unless the car is in "park". Lost? Pull over and consult the map.
I notice it much more, of course, with cell phones, since you can tell someone is using one. Almost invariably, when I see someone drifting across lanes, or stopping short because they were about to run into another car or a pedestrian, these days, they are chatting on a phone.
Trust not a man who's rich in flax / His morals may be sadly lax
Require the car to be in park in order to operate the GPS. This way, you can't program a new route while driving.
The first thing I thought when the article said that "1 in 10 didn't bother to program the unit before setting out" was that their statistic was measuring the wrong thing AND it was still not an accurate reflection. I only program my GPS about 1 in 10 times, usually only when I am going to a new place, and like most GPS units, it can ONLY be programmed while sitting still. Mine doesn't go off of being in park, but off of the output from the Vehicle Speed Sensor. Only preprogrammed destinations can be pulled up while you are moving (unless you know the secret override keypress sequence, which I can never remember).
Actually the fact that most GPS units can not be programmed while driving is quite annoying when you have a passenger along to help you, or when you are driving on a long stretch of practically empty highway and feel like playing with the GPS.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
Actually, the one that really gets my goat is TVs built right into the dashboard. With all the fuss people raised about cell-phones being distracting, I have no idea how auto manufacturers managed to slip this one under the radar. (In theory the TV is supposed to be off unless the vehicle is in park, but the safety switch is easy to disable and many ethically challenged auto shops will do it for you.) How any sane government could have let this pass regulations just blows my mind.
OTOH, maybe they did it on purpose. GM: Better Drivers through Darwinian Selection.
Procrastination Man strikes again!
"I should have been bought by that other guy"
"You never listen to me"
"My mother told me not to let you buy me"
On and on and on. It's enough to make ya crazy.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
I have a navigation system. The thing is completely crippled while driving due to morons like the ones in this study. It's like, because some people are complete morons, responsible people can't use the system as intended. I don't talk on my cell phone while driving. I don't punch in a new address in my nav system while driving (my old one let you do that). However, my passenger could! Nope, not with these wonderful new lawyer-ized systems that have navigation warnings when you start the car. Every time you start the car. Not with these systems that require your parking break to be on in order to use most of the functionality.
How about a screen when you boot the device up for the first time ever:
"Please punch in your driver's license number and name, and click 'I Agree' if you agree that any accidents you may have while driving using this navigation system are your responsibility alone, and you agree not to sue us."
Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
Yup - I'm one of those who don't bother to check the route before I go. I'm a road warrior, and with a GPS in the car it takes all the stress out of moving through an unknown city. This week it is Washington DC, next week a couple cities near San Jose. I may google a map and print it, but that is only a precaution that the rental shop horked up the reservation. So yah, I trust the technology... not sure why that is a problem. For the most part, it just works.
The danger is getting a feel for the navi. It is not uncommon for it to yammer on about turning in a complex intersection - usually making you swerve at the last moment, and then swerve again because you (or the navi) made the wrong turn. Never forget that you are the PIC, even if you have no clue where you are. I'll joke with my wife that the navi is just trying to kill me, not get me lost.
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
The street pilot uses a suction cup to stick to my windshield, and has a chord that plugs into my cigarette lighter. The controls are simple, just a wheel and two buttons. It has a map that shows where I am. When it's not navigating, it shows my speed and direction. When it is navigating, it shows my estimated arrival time, and the distance to my next turn. It also speaks outloud with instructions like "Go 103 miles, then turn left." And then when you get close to the next turn it will say "Go 500 feet and then turn left." It's quick to glance up and see how far I have until I need to be concerned about getting ready to turn/exit. If I forget to tell it where I'm going before I leave, it takes me about 10 seconds to reach up and pick a location from my favorites. I can't imagine typing in an address while driving, but picking a location from a list is much less distracting than trying to read directions on paper while driving.
After getting my GPS, I decided to take an unfamiliar route back to college. I was able to keep my eyes on the road the whole time and I didn't get the least bit lost. Now I take it anytime I go someplace new, and I feel very confident that I'm a safer driver with it than without it.
I just bought a new Jeep two months ago with the RB-1 (made by Alpine) GPS navigation radio. My experience is that I am more attentive when driving! I no longer need to worry about navigating or reading maps because the GPS is handling the navigation, so I can focus totally on driving. There is no need to be looking at the GPS because it always gives you verbal warnings well in advance of the next turn.
how to put on makeup while driving
You misspelled "before".
They should just leave their wives at home!
So, I've got a Garmin Streetpilot 2610. Last year I drove from Mountain View (where I live) to Las Vegas, without any maps, purely by putting (I think 3) waypoints - ("yes, I do want to go through Death Valley and Yosemite" etc.), a start and an end destination.
...
I've done the trip before, but I wouldn't say I was familiar with it, and I tried to see different things this time anyway - we went somewhat out of our way to Monument Valley on the way back, 'cos that's fairly spectacular
The thing performs perfectly - I use it a lot. The confidence it brings when you know it will work out the best route and take you that way is just great. No panic if (when) you miss a junction on a freeway because you were in the wrong lane. No problem if you miss a turn in a city you don't know. I can't praise the thing enough.
My parents came over to visit - never been to the US before. Because I had to work that week, they went on a trip down the coast, with the GPS guiding them all the way. 10 minutes instruction was all it took to get them started, and they were experts after a few days, putting their own waypoints in etc. You have to understand that my parents really *are* VCR-challenged...
I'd never try and put in directions when the car was moving though - just pull over, type the details, and drive on afterwards. News-flash: driving without looking at the road (no matter what gizmo is involved) is not a good idea...
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
"Eyes off the road" != "driving blind". Peripheral vision is usually adequate for most people to keep the car pointed in the right direction and catch things like brake lights. Looking over at your nav system for 10 seconds at a time is indeed quite possible. You see, it's not a matter of vision, but a matter of attention. Most of the time the other drivers around you are behaving in a predictable manner. It's when an unusual event (tire blowout, objects in the road, etc) occurs and your attention cannot be brought back to the road quickly enough to avoid an incident that you get in trouble.
Conclusion: the Empire squashes the Federation like a bug. Accept it.
Honda's factory systems have that. Very star-trekish to bark out commands like "Radio! Tune 620 AM!" or "Audio off!" or "Find nearest gas station!"
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
Firstly:
1. Insurance companies will find any excuse to say that someone is a hazard and increase their premiums - smokers, phone users, ppl who wear glasses, people with bad credit or no credit history - (Like if you just moved here from New Zealand and have no credit history in the USA) "people with no credit crash cars! hand over your cash!!" etc
2. The report says that "people who dont set their destination before they leave" and then try set it while they drive... Well that is like trying to read a regular map by yourself, or following mapquest instructions once you've made a wrong turn... Its called driving people!! That is what you have to do first!!! These people may as well bake a cake.
3. People who are new to the technology think they have to watch it while they drive... not true, your DRIVING HALF A TON OF STEEL AT 70MPH!!!! Keep your eyes on the road!!! The GPS is an aid just like your speedometer and your fuel gauge. DONT STARE AT IT YOU FOOL!!!! [slap slap]
4. I have a Navman iCN-510 in car GPS and I set my destination BEFORE I hit the road, then I leave it. If I need to adjust it, I pull over into a car park. Once you are acustomed to all the information on the screen, you know how to glance at the information you need without losing concentration - No different than reading the fuel guage - [oh, the GPS wants me to go straight ahead, ok]... You need to be acustomed to the information. Try being a passenger and learning how the thing displays upcoming turns, etc.
5. Pilots have a simple rule: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate! Its in that order for a reason. Concentrate on DRIVING first!!!!, then concentrate on where you are going - This exit, or the next exit?... and FRICKEN INDICATE - its not hard. If you cant make an off ramp, use the next one!!!!!
6. Did I mention that insurance companies will find any reason to up your premiums? oh, I did? well if your going to drive that car, then you have to pay more!!! muuuaaaahhhhhaaaaa
7. Get real, and take some responsibility for yourselves people!! Its not the GPSs', its the muppets that dont concentrate on driving.
GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
The problem isn't the system, but the driver.
The headline suggests the system itself causes distraction, when nothing could be further from the truth.
I've used both maps and a navigation system, and the navigation system is about a zillion times better.
If the driver programs the route WHILE DRIVING, the driver is a total moron.
Place blame where it belongs, with the driver, not the technology.
For crying out loud...
-- This sig for rent.
How about "Drivers who misuse GPS are road hazards".
From the summary:
'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.
It's never even occured to me to try doing this. If people insist on doing something dumb with a device in their car, it's not the device's fault, it's the [mis]user's.
Some bring out the best in others, some the worst. Some bring out far more.
I've used both the Garmin Streetpilot 2610 and the Lowrance iWay 500c in-car GPS systems pretty extensively while driving. Primarily, I rely on them to locate customers for my on-site service business, but I also used the Lowrance for a brief stint as a courier, plus used both on a couple of longer trips out of state.
Even though I always try to enter my destination info before actually driving off - I often get in situations where I need to make some changes "on the fly". It's not always really practical to pull off to the side of the road someplace, just to tell it about a new stop you found out you need to get to along the way. As other people said, much of the problem with trying to use a GPS while driving is lack of familiarity with the interface. With mine mounted on my dash in just the right place, I can glance at it quickly or press a few buttons on it quickly without really taking my eyes off the road. But my biggest issue with both units I've used has been an imperfect touch-screen. Sometime you press something and it doesn't respond, or it selects the item above or below the one you tried to pick. Distractions like that can really cause problems.
I also wish they had a little more accurate map data in them! Even though I always bought the latest available map updates for both units I've owned, I've always had numerous problems with it not knowing the correct exit numbers for given highway exits, and cases where it indicated an on-ramp was on my left when it was really coming up on my right (or vice-versa).
They also tend to be bad with long highway exit ramps that split off into 2 different directions at the end of them. (EG. It will tell you "Exit right in 1/4th. mile onto exit 96/97A." But if you don't know for sure if the next instruction is going to be taking 97A vs. 96, it won't tell you until the last few seconds if you need to turn "right" or "left" when the exit forks off in two different directions!)
The Lowrance iWay 500c in particular has been unreliable with "points of interest". I've entered names of restaurants I was looking for, only to be led right up to the driveway of someone's house! (My guess is, they somehow mixed up the restaurant owner's home and business addresses, and took me to the owner's home.) This is especially disturbing considering they use Navteq map data, which is pretty much an "industry standard" for MANY in-car GPS systems.
You guys must have some really crappy navi systems in the US if this is a problem. I've rented plenty of cars in Tokyo, had no idea how to get where I was going, but the navi got me safe and sound, and no going the wrong way down a one-way street. Almost all new cars in Tokyo come with a navi system because it's almost impossible to find where you need to be on a map.
Here the maps are even updated in realtime to show you where construction is that day, where gas stations and eateries are. I hope when I get back something as good as what I can get in Japan is available.
Tea and kung-fu. Life is good. Rising Phoenix
I have no idea what brand it was (pioneer or something), but a friend of mine has a nav system in his element. Maps are WAY more dangerous, because well, you have to look at a map. Once you've typed in the endpoint, it tells you when to turn and whatnot. No human interaction is needed after you've set the waypoints. When was the last time a paper map spoke up to let you know you missed your exit or to tell you traffic is slowing ahead?
Once again, Uranus is the butt of a bad joke.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
It will also get you a free man when playing Contra. Those Toyota engineers think of everything!
----- And all that the Lorax left here in this mess was a small pile of rocks, with one word...UNLESS.