U.S. Transportation Department Proposes Simplified 'Driver Mode' to Help Curb Distracted Driving

[konqerror]

You think?

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...illed-autopilot-self-driving-car-harry-potter

Yeah even when people aren't watching movies, humans are notoriously bad at monitoring things. The aviation industry has found this out over decades with autopilots. Something goes wrong, the pilots don't notice or they are completely out of the loop and the plane craters. Air France 447 is a perfect example. Eastern Air Lines 401, Aeroflot 593, Turkish 1951, and the list goes on.

Of course, this fact is conveniently ignored by Silicon Valley visionaries...

 

[Stella]

How many injuries to pedestrians and other road users?

"In total, the year had 385 fatal crashes that involved the use of a cell phone."

Doesn't seem like much of an epidemic.

 

[JamesPDX]

Here's a better idea: Stiff as f*** penalties if you get pulled over with your cell phone in hand while driving. Unless it's an emergency of course. $1000+ fine, immediate license suspension, or mandatory community service. Something that will actually deter people from doing this. People have a hard enough time driving as it is.

And that includes people at stop lights or people changing songs. Especially people at stoplights. Seems like I have to honk at some a*****e every other light because someone's "gotta check this text". Most cars come with USB jacks, and if they don't it's not hard to make it work.

This is one of my top pet peeves, and it's extremely dangerous. The only acceptable reason to have your phone out is if it's being used as a GPS. But even then, you shouldn't be holding it or staring at it. They're all voice driven.

Penalties don't even stop drunken drivers, and they don't stop using a cellphone while driving even if it's against the law in one's state. The threat of penalty cannot be comprehended by the teenager-brain texting while weaving a dropped Subaru all over I-5.

This means that it's time to try something new, because so many feel that they are above the law.

 

[ouimetnick]

If Jony Ive didn't design a super thin UI, it would be easier to use behind the wheel. Before iOS 7 came along, I could use the playback scrubber with out looking at my phone. But using it on the lock screen even while looking at it, the screen thinks I'm swiping when I'm just trying to move the slider. But yeah, a simplified easy to use UI with easy to hit buttons like in the old days would be appreciated.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/music-controls-driving.1898179/

 

[Juicy Box]

I not sure how I feel about this.

I never text while driving, and rarely touch my phone.

But, when I do, it is almost always dealing with some glitch on CarPlay.

 

[mw360]

This would suck. We already have a car where I, as the passenger, cannot use the navigation system because the car is moving. There is no way the government is going to get this right. But this is really easy to fix this. Make the law 2 months mandatory jail time for anyone using a phone while driving. 90 % of the offenders would stop day 2.

Why should I, as a passenger, be punished for other people's stupidity? How would this work on trains, busses, or the back seat? I would only accept limitations in this area if they absolutely only applied to the driver and not any passengers. But I don't see how that can happen. And once we start telling people where they can use their phones, what is next? Can't use them at the theater, not at political rallies (at least not Trump rallies), not in the presence of the police, not unless you are a certain age. Where does it stop?

Jail time is a little harsh, but I agree that only punishing those that cause a crash is pretty redundant as a deterrent. If they thought they were going to crash they're already be deterred from using the phone.

 

[Arcus]

The majority of people I see texting and driving in philly have cars so old they can possibly be paired anyway.

 

[kwikdeth]

i remember apple's first simplified, easy to use interface that wasnt distracting.... iOS 6 and lower.

 

[Arcus]

i remember apple's first simplified, easy to use interface that wasnt distracting.... iOS 6 and lower.

iTunes 5 and lower as well. Those were the days.

 

[MacsRgr8]

Wouldn't it be great if the use of common sense were obligatory...?

 

[ksnell]

It is illegal in the UK to use a phone whilst driving. The US should make this law as well.

Adding a "driver mode" will simply encourage phone use whilst driving.

Dear God no more laws! Humans should be smart enough to pay attention while driving.

 

[cariacou]

How about we just invest that money in self-driving vehicles subsidies?

There will be here in a couple years without grants. With grants/subsidies, they could be here faster and more rapidly deployed.

Then no need to bother about a driving mode anymore

 

[tigres]

Meanwhile, my Apple watch tells me to get up and move while i am driving. Seems odd that Apple has been so far behind in this area.

 

[firewood]

Why should I, as a passenger, be punished for other people's stupidity?

You certainly will be punished (or killed !) if some distracted driver t-bones the passenger side of the car in which you are riding. Also, there is some evidence that passengers who are watching the road are less likely to distract the driver away from the road just when the traffic or something in front of the car looks dangerous.

Less than 20 years ago, nobody had smart phones in cars. They were not being punished for not having them.

 

[thespacekid]

I wonder if watching movies would be disabled. Can you imagine all the kids crying that they can't see their video? I would think that would be distracting to the driver.

 

[kingtj]

Partially correct. But at the same time? If you really ask WHY people are so insistent on trying to use their phone while driving in the first place, you find that most of the time, it has to do with the real need to communicate with someone trying to reach them in a timely manner, or getting information like directions, that are part of the driving process they're involved with.

I'm sure you can find the *occasional* random idiot trying to play Angry Birds or Pokemon Go while driving .... but that's really not the usual situation.

The "never use your phone while driving!" crowd make often unrealistic suggestions to "just pull over" every time you need to take a call. Yeah... try that when you're stuck in 6 lanes of rush hour traffic, in the middle of a commute that takes about an hour without the traffic! Your wife is calling to find out why you're running so late and wants to know if they should save you dinner or not. Then, 10 minutes later, a co-worker tries to reach you to find out if you completed something in the office with the computer system or not, so they can take care of it before they head out the door, if you forgot. Things like that happen to me all the time -- and my life quickly gets a LOT more stressful if I ignore those calls or texts, or wait 20 minutes to get to the next off-ramp and a safe place to pull over first.

IMO, the smart answer is to use hands-free capabilities to your advantage. The "Eyes Free" option with Siri is pretty handy for this in my car, as I can just press a steering wheel button and then tell Siri to read me my new text messages(s) and dictate back a response.

This wouldn't be needed if motorists engaged brain and not use phone while driving. Distracted driving now injuries / kills more people than impaired driving.

Just sad.

 

[milo]

Neither of which is focusing on driving, which is the exact definition of distracted driving in many states.

And neither is changing the station on the radio or adjusting the heat. Should cars also lock those out while the car is moving?

 

[Mike Oxard]

This all-or-nothing zero-tolerance approach is moronic. There is a world of difference between changing songs while driving and texting/facbooking while driving.

Explain how that's true to the families of these four people killed recently. Watch the video.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-37823457

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ruckers-using-phones-50mph-law-toughened.html

 

[cmwade77]

This does nothing to solve the underlying problem. The problem is a people problem, not a technological one. And really it all comes down to instilling a since of respect and courtesy towards others, something that parents AND schools should be teaching. But schools have gotten away from it fearing that they will be seen as teaching "values" and that would somehow be wrong of them to do.

 

[gixxerfool]

I always thought a system where phones could "talk" to each other would be smart. So they could essentially ping each other and from that know their position relative to each other. This way the driver's phone is the only one affected. If it pings and there's no answer, driver is alone.

 

[DogHouseDub]

This would suck...Why should I, as a passenger, be punished for other people's stupidity?

Unfortunately "people" have proven themselves incapable of impulse control. You want to protect your right to browse the interwebs while in a car? Tell it to Raquel Rosete. Who is looking out for her rights?

 

[840quadra]

And neither is changing the station on the radio or adjusting the heat. Should cars also lock those out while the car is moving?

One is a touch screen that requires you to look away, the other is tactile switch you operate while you focus on the road. The diffeeence is obvious.

 

[coolfactor]

Humans are hopeless. They would view this as "permission to use handheld devices behind the wheel".

 

[jca24]

This wouldn't be needed if motorists engaged brain and not use phone while driving. Distracted driving now injuries / kills more people than impaired driving.

Just sad.

Good point, but lots of drivers don't have brains.

 

[leon44]

It is illegal in the UK to use a phone whilst driving. The US should make this law as well.

Adding a "driver mode" will simply encourage phone use whilst driving.

Illegal or not people still use phones while driving in the UK, plus the law isn't that clear-cut because its fine to use handsfree etc. Adding a driving mode with an simple UI like a radio or satnav would make everyone so much safer because it's going to happen regardless of the law.