So, my kid was driving my 1995 GMC Sierra and was rear-ended by a blonde person on a cell phone. Totaled the truck (which, in the past, I got advice on here!) and it just got towed to the wrecking yard yesterday (sniff sniff). I loved that truck, I owned it since new in '95 and it was still great!
At least she admitted to being on the cell phone and not paying attention (to the cops even!). I suppose for her it was the best outcome since my kid was sitting at a red light at a busy intersection and it is better than getting T-boned!
When will the texting and cell phone madness stop?
When will it stop ?
I’t just getting started.
They’re building even more distraction right IN to the new vehicles !
Add to that these supposed ‘‘safety’’ systems like self-braking accident avoidance and …I can hear it now…
’‘it’s the CAR’s fault !.. IT didn’t stop in time.’’ ( while I was texting and fully dependent on that system stopping if something came up. )
!
It seems that television is glutted anymore with car/truck ads that are doing nothing but touting distractions (touchscreens and so on) and promoting the idea that someone can ride around (as opposed to drive…) with impunity because the intelligent car is going to save their bacon no matter what.
Where there is a will, there is a way. Right now, enough people in the legislatures of the state govts. of America actually want phones in cars. Enough citizens want this stuff as well.
Technologically, it is easy to eliminate cell phone use in at least moving cars but we all talk “around” it. Voice activated bluetooth is accepted as a reasonable alternative but it still is an attention grabber. The only alternative for now is to avoid using phones yourself so you can spend more time avoiding those that do. I agree…touch screens are a big distraction too. There is way too much going on in cars and it started with the radio.
People want their information sooner, faster, and with a minimum of effort. This will progressively replace distractions with lesser distractions, but still distractions. The current wave is the dawn of smartwatches, which while a huge improvement, is still one more thing for the driver to look down at, and checking that the speech recognition actually got it right is a traffic collision waiting to happen.
Unfortunately, this is the compromise we’re given. Better than nothing I suppose.
I think there’s going to be a backlash against touchscreens and we’ll see a return to physical controls. People are gonna realize that they miss tactile feedback, and being able to activate various things without even looking. Not out of safety – out of convenience. As always. They’ll want to be able to switch the radio or turn down the AC without lifiting their eyes from their phone.
If consumers were driven by safety at all costs, we’d all be driving small APCs around. As it turns out, we CAN assign a monetary value to human life.
I bet the F’ing insurance company will give you a bag of chips and a snickers bar. Never reflects the real value of a car. I would sue for the difference if they come up short changed. You certainly cant replace a well maintained vehicle for the money.
Insurance companies are at the top of my list of hated institutions. One of the largest carriers of auto insurance covered a young man who crossed into my lane and drove me off the road where I rolled over twice. After several months of discussions with a never ending parade of people with very impressive sounding titles that resulted in their increasing the pittance they offered for my loss a few hundred dollars I gave up and took their check. I have regretted it to this day and have avowed that if ever involved in another accident I will be hauled away in an ambulance swearing that the pain is unbearable.
It’s no wonder there are so many ambulance chasing lawyers advertising on television, radio and even billboards.