Siri vs. Xbox

[NobleSavage]

Ok, this is coming from a trucker who drives all across the US. He said that asking Google or using the GPS is no safer than than using maps. However, he said generally if he has to look up a place it would take 15 minutes longer to use maps. This would be unexceptable to his company. He also said that today he had to talk to dispatch about 20 times because there were multiple clusterfucks involving snow, another driver, a dropped trailer, and distribution centers which were closed. Routs and deliveries to distribution centers change on the fly. He also felt that the electronic logs being pushed by the DOT make things worse not better.

 

[TSwizzle]

Do you think I should pull over and come to a complete stop before saying "OK Google, navigate to [place]"?

Yes. But of course you won't, because you firmly believe that it isn't dangerous to do it while driving. Your belief is so certain that you think the very idea that it might be dangerous is laughable. So do most people. Some of whom will kill as a result - and will then be assured by their friends that it wasn't their fault.

That's humans for you.

There are conditions where it is perfectly safe to use hand held devices. It's pretty easy to dictate a text to Siri and send or ask for directions. Sometimes, probably a lot of the time, it's not safe to do that which is why I pick and choose when I'm going to do it. I do see some people doing some dumb shit while on their phones though. Like backing out of a parking spot, steering with one hand while holding the phone to their ear with the other. That's dumb.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Ok, this is coming from a trucker who drives all across the US. He said that asking Google or using the GPS is no safer than than using maps. However, he said generally if he has to look up a place it would take 15 minutes longer to use maps. This would be unexceptable to his company. He also said that today he had to talk to dispatch about 20 times because there were multiple clusterfucks involving snow, another driver, a dropped trailer, and distribution centers which were closed. Routs and deliveries to distribution centers change on the fly. He also felt that the electronic logs being pushed by the DOT make things worse not better.

While I disagree about whether cell phones are inherently dangerous in cars this certainly sounds unacceptable. Trying to fix a clusterfuck while driving certainly is dangerous.

What's the problem with the electronic logs other than being harder for a driver to fake?

- - - Updated - - -

Yes. But of course you won't, because you firmly believe that it isn't dangerous to do it while driving. Your belief is so certain that you think the very idea that it might be dangerous is laughable. So do most people. Some of whom will kill as a result - and will then be assured by their friends that it wasn't their fault.

That's humans for you.

There are conditions where it is perfectly safe to use hand held devices. It's pretty easy to dictate a text to Siri and send or ask for directions. Sometimes, probably a lot of the time, it's not safe to do that which is why I pick and choose when I'm going to do it. I do see some people doing some dumb shit while on their phones though. Like backing out of a parking spot, steering with one hand while holding the phone to their ear with the other. That's dumb.

Ever hear of a stick shift? If using only one hand was actually dangerous the stick shift would have been banned long ago. Once in a long while you'll need to use two hands to drive, the phone goes in your lap in that case.

 

[TSwizzle]

There are conditions where it is perfectly safe to use hand held devices. It's pretty easy to dictate a text to Siri and send or ask for directions. Sometimes, probably a lot of the time, it's not safe to do that which is why I pick and choose when I'm going to do it. I do see some people doing some dumb shit while on their phones though. Like backing out of a parking spot, steering with one hand while holding the phone to their ear with the other. That's dumb.

Ever hear of a stick shift? If using only one hand was actually dangerous the stick shift would have been banned long ago. Once in a long while you'll need to use two hands to drive, the phone goes in your lap in that case.

Yes, of course I have and I've actually owned a few stick shift cars, learned to drive and passed my test in a stick shift. And using two hands to steer the car while in reverse is much easier and probably safer than using one hand. I imagine it being quite awkward to hold a phone to your ear and change gear at the same time. But some stupid woman in the parking lot almost backed into me because she was not paying attention to what she was doing. She had the phone to her ear, yakking on the phone and backed out of her spot. She was totally oblivious.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Ever hear of a stick shift? If using only one hand was actually dangerous the stick shift would have been banned long ago. Once in a long while you'll need to use two hands to drive, the phone goes in your lap in that case.

Yes, of course I have and I've actually owned a few stick shift cars, learned to drive and passed my test in a stick shift. And using two hands to steer the car while in reverse is much easier and probably safer than using one hand. I imagine it being quite awkward to hold a phone to your ear and change gear at the same time. But some stupid woman in the parking lot almost backed into me because she was not paying attention to what she was doing. She had the phone to her ear, yakking on the phone and backed out of her spot. She was totally oblivious.

And you nailed the real problem here: Paying more attention to the conversation than to the driving. That's the real issue with cell phones, not whether you have a hands-free setup. Hands free doesn't keep you from getting too involved in the conversation, holding the handset doesn't matter to an experienced driver. (They have found that newbie drivers do perform worse if they're holding the handset.)

 

[barbos]

You can't do anything about people not paying attention to driving, other than automatic systems which take over in case driver is too involved with not driving.