Technology and driving truly mix or is it causing safety issues?
While technology in itself is a good thing. While the designers may have figured out how to make it user friendly, they forgot the human factor.
As technology has grown along with the integration of it into our daily lives. Even with all the advertisements telling people not to text and drive. Accident numbers have increased over the past few years.
With both the auto manufacturers of both personal and commercial company’s building more technology into their vehicles. Cell phones have become only one of many distractions drivers face today.
The one thing I don’t understand is with all the emphasis on driver distractions why do the automakers keep putting more electronics in the vehicles? Giving drivers more things to pull their attention from the road.
With the attention span of people getting short and shorter. Then there is what is often referred to as the me attitude of people.
All of which play a part in the safety concerns of those who are tasked with trying to keep us safe while we travel.
With the arrival of more and more electric vehicles being used and advancements in technology. Could it be that we are headed toward fully autonomous vehicles removing the human factor from the equations?
While it may work in the more densely populated areas. Which would cut down on emissions and possibly relieve some congestion on the roadways. I have to wonder how fully autonomous vehicles would play out on farms and other professions that have to travel off the beaten path.
The hole infrastructure system would have to be rebuilt to handle the daily use of fully autonomous vehicles. As well as maps would have to be constantly updated with road construction and accidents.
Then if we look at the flip side of the coin.
While keeping the electric vehicles removing distractions from the people in the vehicle. Placing a signal jammer in the vehicle. Which would become active once the vehicle was taken out of park or the parking brake released on manual transmission vehicles. This would require the programming of all electronics while the vehicle was in park or parking brake set on manual transmission vehicles. Possibly forcing drivers to pay attention to the road as well as their surroundings.
The deal is that even if vehicles were set up to remove distractions while the vehicle was moving. It would cause a whole another set of problems. With the hurry up and wait or the rushed world we live in people have gotten used to doing a lot of different tasks all while driving.
While it might slow them down a little there are still a lot of other things that they might replace the electronics with.
To give you an idea here are some of the things people do while driving. Yes, I can attest to them as I have seen people doing them with my own eyes. Over my thirty-year driving career.
1. Eating
2. Reading a book, newspaper, magazine
3. Tending to personal hygiene
4. Watching a movie while driving
5. Playing with them self’s or someone else
And this is a shortlist
Even though nothing is saying that people will not find something to distract them while driving. Even though they should be paying attention to their surroundings while driving. As most find driving to be boring but necessary.
