Employers should make more effort to reduce in-vehicle distractions says road safety charity

PRSboy wrote:

Managed right, I don't have a problem with a good, clear sat nav system.  I'd rather a driver in a busy environment guided by clearly spoken instructions rather than the same with an A-Z balanced on their knee.

I do object to text messages being displayed on an in-car display.  Anything like this that takes a drivers attention away un-necessarily is not good.

The problem is that all the delivery companies, supermarket vans etc are all guided by smartphones which give them the job and the location.

I also find the general move toward multi-function touch screens a backward step.  I read of cars where you need to go into a menu just to do simple things like turn the heating up.  What is wrong with a simple temperature knob?

When I hired a modern Merc recently it took me half an hour to work out how to use the controls. I have a car laid up at present waiting for the summer months because of a failure in the electronic heater controls that in an older car would have been controlled by a slider physically connected to a flap.

That's progress...

PRSboy wrote:

I also find the general move toward multi-function touch screens a backward step.  I read of cars where you need to go into a menu just to do simple things like turn the heating up.  What is wrong with a simple temperature knob?

This.

We test drove a Citroen a couple of years ago and everything bar indicators lights etc, was controlled from a touch screen down near the gearstick. Now several things strike me about this; 1) from long experience in the IT industry, electronic gizmos tend to have a very limited endurance - I can't see one of those screens lasting 10 years never mind 20, 2) let's say it does last 10 years then fails, whats the bets they've stopped making that part, and you're not going to fix it with a cable tie, 3) most importantly these are touch screens with no tactility so completely distracting - I'd say it's not a coincidence that the sharp rise in phone related crashes corresponds with the rise of the smartphone over the old feature phones with real buttons.

Car manufacturers are creaming themselves, built-in obscelescence from all the electronics, not servicable by anybody other than authorised dealers due to the increased complexity

brooksby wrote:

"Employers Motor vehicle manufacturers should make more effort to reduce in-vehicle distractions says road safety charity"

FTFY 

 

Have you seen the size of the screens in some EVs, particularly the higher end ones, I think the one I saw in the Tesla was at least 10" 

There were several complaints last year to ASA regarding a car advert (Toyota IIRC) that showed the driver making multiple use of social media on a screen whilst on the move. ASA rejected the claims that it was a problem/socially irresponsible never mind illegal. I made an official complaint regarding this as they were basically allowing an advert to portray illegal actions that does lead to road deaths. Nothing came of it, and yet they withdrew that advert for safe cycling made by Cycling Scotland 'see bike, think horse'

Bunch of cretins

BehindTheBikesheds wrote:

brooksby wrote:

"Employers Motor vehicle manufacturers should make more effort to reduce in-vehicle distractions says road safety charity"

FTFY 

 

Have you seen the size of the screens in some EVs, particularly the higher end ones, I think the one I saw in the Tesla was at least 10" 

There were several complaints last year to ASA regarding a car advert (Toyota IIRC) that showed the driver making multiple use of social media on a screen whilst on the move. ASA rejected the claims that it was a problem/socially irresponsible never mind illegal. I made an official complaint regarding this as they were basically allowing an advert to portray illegal actions that does lead to road deaths. Nothing came of it, and yet they withdrew that advert for safe cycling made by Cycling Scotland 'see bike, think horse'

Bunch of cretins

 

I think the car companies have thought that they need to put all that technology in or else people can't cope. Like every car containing a cigarette lighter and an ashtray, fifty years ago. All that soshul meeja gubbins is probably fine if your car is KITT, but I imagine it's very distracting if you're also supposed to be in control of safely driving your car around..,

kil0ran wrote:

My last employer had very clear guidance in the employee handbook - do not accept a phone call whilst driving. To that end they wouldn't fund hands-free kits and there was a clause that repeated phone calls to a colleague whilst driving would result in a disciplinary offence for the caller. If you had an accident whilst you were using a company-supplied mobile phone it was gross misconduct and likely instant dismissal.

You obviously didn't work for one of our many wonderful delivery firms. DPD, Hermes and other drivers I see around here every day are often on their phone. I report every one, but always it's the same response: it's unacceptable and we'll deal with it. Next week I'll see the same driver doing the same thing.

The irony that a lot of the these vans are delivering online bike gear to my door is not lost on me.