In-Car Navigation Systems Too Distracting?

Lam1969 writes "A survey released by an insurance company shows that drivers with in-car navigation systems are more likely to lose concentration than drivers who unfold a map while driving. From the article: 'One in 10 motorists with navigation systems set off on their journeys without bothering to program their route, and more than half admitted that they then had to take their eyes off the road to input the details while driving. Nearly one in eight did not even bother to check out a route they were unfamiliar with and simply relied on the technology to get them to their destination.'"

No they aren't

[Anonymous Coward]

In fact, I'm responding to this post on my in car computeY$#YKGRdsfgsm;sd;mgf.

Bad, but solved easily.

[The Living Fractal]

This kind of problem could actually be a good thing. It could usher in the era of on-windshield semi-transparent projected displays that allow you to keep your eyes closer to the road.

That, and you could mod it to display a perfect set of breasts that bounced very lifelike whenever the vehicle went over a bump. Now there's something I would buy. Ok so that's just a pipe dream... well whatever, I still want the projected display on the windshield damn you!

Puh-leeze...

[cookiej]

I'll bet if you looked closer, you'd see that the idiots who "lose concentration" don't really know how to use the system. The nice thing about a map is that everyone understands how to use it. It's still massively dangerous. If you know how to use your nav system, it's easier than a map. The article should read:

"Study Finds Stupid People More Likely to Kill Others When Driving"

And this gem:

Nearly one in eight did not even bother to check out a route they were unfamiliar with and simply relied on the technology to get them to their destination.

Heavens! Relying on Technology! Burn them at the stake!

Ye, Gods.

statistics

[Anonymous Coward]

9 of 10 drivers had to put down their cell phones in order to program the GPS
  6 of 10 used the GPS mount as a convenient place to hang their makeup mirrors
  3 of 10 had to stop smoking long enough to wipe the nicotine stains off of the nav controls
  1 in 10 actually believed anything the insurance companies tell them
  10 out of 10 actually got where they were going without making wrong turns, wasting fuel, driving stupid slow in traffic, or having to listen to "are you sure you know where you are going" from the passenger seat.

Re:A shift in driving

[avalys]

What this really illustrates is that drivers are bored with driving.

I solve that problem by driving everywhere at above-legal speeds.

I wonder if I can use that as an excuse the next time I get pulled over: "Well officer, I was speeding, but I was definitely paying attention to the road!"

Re:Cars have this already

[Anonymous Coward]

The M5 has breasts? Sweet!!!!

The GPS Lady

[$RANDOMLUSER]

I hate it when you ignore the "turn left at the next light" and then they just start bitchin' at you:

"I should have been bought by that other guy"
"You never listen to me"
"My mother told me not to let you buy me"

On and on and on. It's enough to make ya crazy.

It is a godsend...

[(H)elix1]

Yup - I'm one of those who don't bother to check the route before I go. I'm a road warrior, and with a GPS in the car it takes all the stress out of moving through an unknown city. This week it is Washington DC, next week a couple cities near San Jose. I may google a map and print it, but that is only a precaution that the rental shop horked up the reservation. So yah, I trust the technology... not sure why that is a problem. For the most part, it just works.

The danger is getting a feel for the navi. It is not uncommon for it to yammer on about turning in a complex intersection - usually making you swerve at the last moment, and then swerve again because you (or the navi) made the wrong turn. Never forget that you are the PIC, even if you have no clue where you are. I'll joke with my wife that the navi is just trying to kill me, not get me lost.

Quick correction

[TCQuad]

how to put on makeup while driving

You misspelled "before".

Oblig: In-Car Navigation Systems Too Distracting?

[SeaFox]

They should just leave their wives at home!

Re:A shift in driving

[ppz003]

I solve that problem by driving everywhere at above-legal speeds.

I like to refer to them as super-legal speeds. Makes them seem safer.

Re:No they aren't

[jrockway]

NO DRIVER _

Re:And this is diffrent how?

[iamdrscience]

a driver would turn left into traffic upon hearing the verbal command [OK, here's a hint, it was from Germany...].

Germans doing terrible things just because they were ordered to? I think this may have happened before...

Re:Saturn?

[Cro Magnon]

Once again, Uranus is the butt of a bad joke.

Re:And this is diffrent how?

[multipartmixed]

More like six years... and thanks for the laugh!

# Subject: Driver Follows Navigation System Into River
# From: "Vic Maslanka"
# Date: Fri, 01 Jan 1999 14:17:32 PST

>BONN, Germany (Reuters) - A German motorist obediently following the
>satellite-guided navigation system of his car drove straight into the
>Havel River in eastern Germany, police said Saturday.
>
>He drove his BMW Friday night past a stop sign, down a ferry ramp and
>about four meters (12 feet) into the river before stopping. The
>57-year-old driver from Hamburg and his passenger were not hurt.
>
>Police said the driver reported he was following the navigation
>system, which had evidently failed to note that the road in the town
>of Caputh near Potsdam ended at a ferry crossing.
>
>``Normally accidents like this shouldn't happen,'' said police
>spokesman Frank Heinichen. ``But that sort of thing can happen when
>people rely too much on technology.''
>
>-- END OF STORY
>
>OTSDAM, Germany (AP) - A German couple out for a Christmas drive near
>Berlin ended up in a river - apparently because their luxury car's
>computer forgot to mention they had to wait for a ferry.
>
>The 57-year-old driver and his passenger were not injured in the
>accident, police said Saturday.
>
>Several companies sell computer navigators, some of which are >attached
to dashboards and serve as electronic road maps. Some offer >traffic
updates and Internet connections.
>
>The German couple was out driving Friday night when they came to a
>ferry crossing at the Havel River in Caputh, six miles from Berlin.
>
>That information, however, was never stored in the satellite-steered
>navigation system they were using, police said. The driver kept going
>straight in the dark, expecting a bridge, and ended up in the water.
>
>River traffic was stopped for two hours while the car was fished out
>about 13 feet from the river bank.
>
>``You can't always blindly rely on technology,'' a coast guard police
>officer said.
>
>-- END OF STORY
>

Konami

[grgyle]

It will also get you a free man when playing Contra. Those Toyota engineers think of everything!