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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.
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.
How about the navigation software telling them to turn into a one-way street, driving the wrong way? I have an acquaintance who drives like this, blindly following the software without actually reading the road. It scares the hell out of me.
Tubal-Cain smokes the white owl.
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
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.
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.
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!
Anyways, I use a GPSMap 60CS with the car kit, and it is a invaluable, especially when driving around a new city in the dark.
But like anything, you must learn to use it. The GPS tracking itself is extremely accurate, but the maps are somewhat less so. You cannot drive safely or effectively if you watch the GPS too closely, and try to literally trace out your path on the map. Insteaad, you should glance at the GPS and see "OK, I need to get on I-15 going south," and then follow the road signs to do it. You use the GPS to give you knowledge of your next turn, but then you use your eyeballs through the windows to apply it.
Finally, you must not get a new GPS and set out on unfamiliar roads immediately. You need a little practice in your own neighborhood to instantly understand the displays and work the interface. I wonder if the subjects of this study were novice users of the devices? If so, that's a big limitation of the results.