Mobiles - again.

[richlist]

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in thinking that should anyone cause me of mine loss or injury because they were using their mobile phone then, the law is probably the least of their worries.

[supremetwo]

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in thinking that should anyone cause me of mine loss or injury because they were using their mobile phone then, the law is probably the least of their worries.

Is it just mobile phones though?

Vehicle computerised dashboards are getting very complicated and paging through the ever-increasing choices of menus is just as or even-more distracting.

[didds]

I find navigating the bloody radio difficult enough. there was a time when you have an on off switch, a LW/MW/FM switch and some presets to use, plus a forward/back button.

All of them obvious.

Now its a plethora of buttons, none of the obvious, all in close prximity and the presets never get remembered.

bah humbug and stuff.

didds

[richlist]

That's why many cars have controls on and around the steering wheel. You can select, change and alter radio, phone and cruise controls etc without taking eyes off the road or hands off the wheel.

Calls & texts on mobile phones whilst driving is a totally different ball game.

I'm convinced that the most dangerous time on the road is early morning......some drivers still over the drink limit from the night before and the most deadly are those same people using their mobile whist driving.

Id execute them all at dawn without hesitation.

[bungeejumper]

That's why many cars have controls on and around the steering wheel. You can select, change and alter radio, phone and cruise controls etc without taking eyes off the road or hands off the wheel.

A nice theory, I suppose. But I've got 17 bloody buttons on my steering wheel, and they do everything from turning on the bluetooth to switching the radio band - or adjusting the cruise control, something I wouldn't ever be doing unless I was on a clear straight road and could use the dash switch instead. I have no intention or prospect of ever learning where these 17 (rotating!) buttons are without needing to look down at the damn steering wheel while I'm doing fifty in mixed traffic. And that ain't gonna happen.

There are only two things I really want my steering wheel to do. (Apart from steering the car, of course.) One is to sound the horn - I might use it once a year! - and the other is to mute the sound system so that I can concentrate on whatever the road happens to be throwing at me. Two great big buttons would suit me fine.

BJ

[swill453]

there are cars with less features and less technology.

Fewer features, less technology https://xkcd.com/386/

Scott.

[redsturgeon]

Moderator Message:
I've deleted a couple of posts. Please keep things civil here. If you feel a post has broken the rule then please report it rather than respond.

[DrFfybes]

That's why many cars have controls on and around the steering wheel. You can select, change and alter radio, phone and cruise controls etc without taking eyes off the road or hands off the wheel.

Only once you know where all the buttons are.

https://www.piratefm.co.uk/news/latest- ... hours-old/

Paul

[bungeejumper]

https://www.piratefm.co.uk/news/latest- ... hours-old/

Still, look on the bright side. At least they know now that the airbags work.

BJ

[JessUK98]

I nearly had a head on collision a few years ago (before the new laws came in I think) with a young lad that was texting on his phone and had drifted over to my side of the road. I'd not long turned into the road so was probably only going about 30-40 mph (was a 60 mph road), when I came across him so was able to stop and blast my horn long enough to startle him into getting back over to his side (thankfully he mustn't have been going very fast either). He just looked sheepish and waved sorry. If only I had a dashcam then (or the foresight to take his reg number)!
I've also had some tit in a van talking on his phone cut the corner at speed on my side of the road and nearly hit me. That was pre dashcam as well.
Some people don't care as the risk of getting caught, especially in rural areas is very slim.

Also agree that modern cars are getting too much tech in them. In January the starter motor on my car went (on a Friday night!), and because I have Volvo Assistance (get it free whenever I take my car for a service & MOT at the main dealer), I got a car free until mine was fixed (is supposed to be for 2 working days, but they got me the car on Sat so basically got the weekend included). I got a brand new Volvo S90, it had only done just over 1500 miles. Wow, it was a fab car, but the centre console was a touch screen about the size of my iPad. No way could I have used it at the same time as driving. Loved being able to link my phone up to it through bluetooth though. Could blast out my Spotify playlists, and even accepted a hands free call. When I got a text message, the car read it out to me when I pressed the icon that flashed up on the middle of the console screen (same for accepting & rejecting calls). I didn't investigate whether or not I could dictate a message back though.