As I was browsing the internet, I came across an intriguing article on the NPR website. The article was titled Can Drivers Handle More Gadgets? Experts Say "No". The article centers around the idea that Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood was making a trip to Ford Headquarters to talk about "distracted driving".
In an astonishing statistic 5,000 people where killed in distracted driving incidents. Lahood's major concern is with the advent use of cell phones when it comes to driving. I have to agree with Lahood and say that every time I see someone on the phone while driving, it infuriates me. If the conversation is that important pullover!!! Going deeper into the NPR article, I learned that cell phones are indeed distracting but they distractions pile up while on the road. Lahood mentions his dislike of infotainment additions to cars such as Onstar and Sync. These two things are just additions to the distractions.
The article even mentions the inane idea that the Ford Company is putting drivers through a tutorial before buying their car. I have to agree with the expert they have by saying that this truly is ridiculous.
Wrapping up i have to say the idea of more gadgets to use in the car is pretty scary stuff and some of the things that are said to be on the way like checking your facebook in car are a little farfetched. I guess i will have to take the government approach of wait and see.
The full article can be found at http://n.pr/fWDmFx
Matthew i definatly agree with you. I think that cell phones are the worst distractions. I am guilty of talking on a cell phone while driving but after a close call i decided to never talk and drive at the same time. I also think that even if you have a built service that lets you not "hold a cell phone" is still distracting. You are still focused on the conversation, not the road
ReplyDeleteI think I would have to disagree with you on this one. It's the people that are dangerous not the cell phones. I know I've answered the phone while driving before and I can't say I'm any worse. Although I get pretty terrified whenever I see one of those drivers so enrapt in their phone calls they aren't even looking at the road.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Mary that it is people who make their own decisions about what gadgets to use while driving, which in turn makes them the cause of potential danger. I'm not sure how Onstar would be a dangerous gadget in the car, but checking your Facebook is just craziness. I know we all love social networking, but can it really not wait? I was writing a short text while driving and started to swerve into oncoming traffic. My boyfriend, who was in the passenger seat, alerted me and made me promise to never text again while driving, and I don't because it was a scary moment and stupid on my part. Extra gadgets in cars might be okay depending on how you use them. If requires your eyes not your ears (like texting) then it's a no go.
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