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Running Apps From Your Car's Dashboard
An anonymous reader writes "I guess is was inevitable, now that BMW is letting you view and make tweets from behind the wheel, but is it really a good idea to let people run smartphone apps from their dashboard monitor? I guess for navigation you could run your favorite map-app there, but there is nothing to stop people from running other apps on their dashboard too. It might be better than texting from the handset, but I'm not sure I want people playing Angry Birds while they drive."
>> I'm not sure I want people playing Angry Birds while they drive
Here in Boston, we use the same techniques for both.
Where would the police come in here?
Yes, in the Wild Wild West, everybody could do whatever the hell they wanted in the privacy of their own automobile while driving down the public roads. However, in the real world, we should probably think this through a little bit.
But I'm not sure that an article whose first paragraph contained the phrase 'Smartphone-centric in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems are the next step in mobile convenience' is the place to start.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Why do you think what you want people do to with their cars is any of your business, as long as it doesn't involve hurting you or someone else?
Punish them if they do something stupid and cause a traffic accident... let them work out what they're allowed to do with their insurance company that may have to pay for the consequences, but how did we get to the point where joe anonymous may get a say via the police over what software people are allowed to run?
Because frequently it *does* involve hurting someone else: it's called a fatal car accident, where the person who wasn't playing Angry Birds dies. The person wrecklessly driving will of course face all kinds of consequences from the police/courts/insurance company for the accident (and quite possibly manslaughter charges on top of it), but that doesn't bring the victim back to life.
You must not drive apparently. The majority of people are barely capable of driving without any distractions. I'm all for the Libertarian idealism but too many slack jawed mouth breathers ruined it. Sorry.
Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
Could lead to playing Angry Cars inadvertently.
...enabled in car systems?
Until recently, I had no touchscreens in my car, but once I got my new shiny smartphone, it had a rather cool "Car mode", where it made all the buttons large and easy to press, etc...
However nice it was in theory, I found that once I mounted it on my dash, it became a right PITA to operate while driving. While complex things (like setting up the maps) would make sense to stop at the side and fiddle with, other things (like setting the volume, or switching playlists/songs) shouldn't.
The biggest annoyance was the fact that operating the touchscreen required me to look at it, even for simple things like the volume control or music switching. I could operate all the major functions of my old car radio without even looking at it, it was well laid out, and buttons were different shapes and sizes, really easy to learn.
I really think touchscreens are not ready for car use just yet, at least until they develop some overlay that can change its tactile feedback. Anything that requires you to look at it to operate should have no place in the dashboard IMO (if it was mounted only on the passenger side out of reach of the driver, that would be good as well, but then I suspect some people would just lean over while hurtling down the motorway).
I don't know, I feel this will just increase the number of accidents due to people looking at the screen in order to find the song they want, or to tweet or something else... and as someone who has to share the roads with them, it is somewhat of a worry.... :/
Maybe the Germans can exhibit a bit of self control behind the wheel while driving?
So the story goes with VW's engineers that they kept getting complaints from the American dealers that their cars lacked cup holders. The engineers couldn't fathom why you would want a cup of anything while driving. So they determined it was just to store something while driving to a destination. So for the Mk3 Golf/Jetta we got cup holders... That will hold exactly a 12 floz can. Anything larger won't fit.
The Germans have a complete different mentality about driving that most Americans don't get. I got to visit a while ago for a week and when you're doing 200 kph you don't have time for a cell phone. The autobahn gently twists and turns unlike some American highways which you could write your biography if the car's aligned.
So explain to me why a passenger would need to have their smartphone in hand and have the application for it appear on the dash, rather than just looking at it in their hand, that doesn't involve the driver.
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
By your logic I should be allowed to get shitfaced drunk while driving and society gets no say unless I screw up.
Mind you I personally have no problem with this, I've known people that are safer drivers blacked-out drunk than some people are stone sober. They rarely get caught because they don't give off any "warning signs" no weaving, skipping stop signs, etc. But if we go that route lets start actually enforcing reckless driving laws with severe penalties. If you can't stay in your lane and obey the traffic laws what does it matter if it's because you're drunk, texting, or trying to break up a fight between the kids? Your vehicle is just as big a threat either way.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
In the case of a glancing collision, spinnout, etc you can easily get thrown around the cab by forces considerably stronger than you could hope to resist. A seatbelt will keep you in place behind the wheel where you still have a some control over your still-moving vehicle and can hopefully bring it to a stop without any secondary collisions. An only slightly weaker argument applies to front-seat passengers, since they can easily be thrown into your lap severely impairing your control. Rear seat passengers on the other hand are more a case of "think of the children" since any collision which manages to throw them into the front seat will likely have stopped the car anyway. Though, now that I think about it, without seatbelts children are far more likely to be clambering around the back of the car distracting you, or perched between the front seats so they can see out the windshield (and get thrown around the cab), so there's might be some validity to it after all.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
Would this person's prosecution for causing an accident resulting in death deter other people from behaving similarly?
Probably not, but that's not the point.
Do you really think that setting up regulations to ban or approve applications that are allowed to run on a computer would deter someone more than the possibility of causing death, either theirs or others?
Yes, I do. If given the opportunity to play Angry Birds on the dashboard, many will opt to do it, because the barrier to entry is nonexistent. People generally believe that the worst won't happen to them, and that it'd be alright because the foreseen circumstances are just fine. However, it is inherently impossible to account for unforeseen circumstances. These circumstances can, in many cases, be avoided with quick reflexes and complete attention on the road, but trying to line up the perfect shot would inherently prohibit one from realizing the danger before it's too late.
Have you thought through the enforcement regime required to ensure people don't have "unapproved" applications loaded on their car computer?
Yes, and it's called "what's worked for the past century: don't run apps on your dashboard at all". Wanna add a trip computer or GPS stats on there? Fine, I'm down with that. But there's no conceivable reason to add games to a dashboard as it does nothing whatsoever to provide better performance to the vehicle or the driver. Just because something is possible doesn't make it a good idea.
Are we talking an annual inspection of their data, or what, you must be a government approved vehicle computer system or application provider?
No, we are talking a dashboard that doesn't run apps.
What's next, regulations about the types of toilet paper, flushing mechanisms or light bulbs "we" approve of? Ridiculous, right?
Redacto ad absurdum much? I'm pretty sure that there are some form of regulations in place to limit the possibility of making toilet paper out of fiberglass or light bulbs out of nuclear waste, because that's the level of absurdity this line requires to make it work.
How about, mind your own damn business until it actually affects you?
My best friend lost her mom in a car accident to a distracted driver. Sue me for the one degree of separation.
Have people really lost sight of liberty so much?
If you want to play angry birds while driving on a closed course or the middle of the desert, go right ahead. It's not a significant infringement of your personal liberties to say that while you're on public highways and operating a motor vehicle that you should act in a manner that doesn't risk the lives of the people next to you for your own entertainment.
Or do they just not think things like this through?
You're defending the notion of adding entertainment in an unnecessary and potentially dangerous manner to cars that will be driving on public roads and putting it under the vise of a liberty issue. I'll take the hit on the "not thinking things through" schtick once you can explain to me how this benefits anyone.
So your situation is to have the passengers display entertainment on the dash board for everyone to see when they could just use the built in displays in the head rests for the back and again the actual smartphone for the person in shotgun..
I understand the "passenger" argument, and i do believe that passengers have a responsibly not to create a distraction.
As for your comment on self driving cars, if you are in a self driving car, then you are all passengers, a computer is the driver, and i wouldn't want the computer distracted beyond it's ability to operate the vehicle.. if you want to "test the waters for socially enabled in car entertainment" that effects the current meat space driver/operator wait till you have the self driving cars so you can let them be entertained by i while the computer drives the car, but it would be unwise to do it before hand.
If you really want to watch a movie on your way to work, do it in a manner where you aren't the one in control of a 3000lbs object traveling at 50 mph while watching the movie.
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
Distracted morons are one reason why I drive full-size trucks with ugly accessories such as liftgates and tow-truck bumpers.
Besides using them for their intended purpose, such add-ons get driver attention. Flat black Rustoleum FTW!
I also keep my triball Reese hitch installed as a standoff. Anyone who rear-ends me deserves to lose a radiator, not just a bumper cover.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
I'm surprised there isn't yet a reply to this along the lines of "You drive a truck, ergo you're an asshole and a bully as a driver." I see that all the time, especially in the context of a conversation about driving etiquette.
I drive a full-size truck myself, and am a very polite driver. The nice thing about my truck is it forces people around me to be polite as well.