Yet another reason why I'm voting for Andy as top 5 journalists of the year!!! Excellent read, Sir!
Well, what about a rental car? Do you sit in the agency lot to read up on how to put up the roof of your shiny MX-5, or do you rush off to your destination as soon as you’ve got the top down and the mirrors adjusted?
I actually did do this when I rented cars every week to drive from Windsor to Guelph/Toronto - I would sit in Discount or Enterprise's lot for ~10mins to adjust everything, set radio pre-sets, and figure out controls. All of my luggage would be in the trunk with nothing in the cabin other than a water bottle for the 3-4 hr drive.
Yet car manufacturers now are making cars that much more involved with smartphones. It's bad enough for the ones that have built-in Navi, but cars that are smartphone-based (i.e. REQUIRE a smartphone to have certain functions) are just plain wrong, IMO. Bossman loves his internet-connected P85D. "hey, want to hear songs by the Foo Fighters?" [pushes button on steering wheel]: "play songs by Foo Fighters". Tesla: "climate control changed to 21 degrees". "ugh", [pushes button]: "PLAY. SONGS. BY. THE. FOO FIGHTERS!" Tesla: "searching for songs by the Foot Fighters...no songs found." [pushes button]: "FOO FIGHTERS, GODDAMN IT!" "playing songs by the Foo Fighters."
The ordeal takes well over a minute where he's focusing on the 17" iPad instead of the road. No incidents come of it, but he's driving 691hp of batteries in downtown traffic while poking at it.
Though the emphasis in the media is on smartphones and texting, distractions come in all forms.
I think this is the take-home message, though. How true it is, that some topless woman walks by and you are forced to look in the other direction because no attractive woman would walk topless (I kid...), or "your destination is ahead, on the left." Um, I don't see it - I'll just drive slowly and look for a sign. Eating, drinking, putting on facking makeup - I often saw over the past year at the Queenston/Lewiston Border crossing many, many women putting on nail polish. I mean, seriously?! I saw one guy completely change his shirt (over-the-head to button-down) while waiting in queue.
The problem is, sh!t like Spongebob have made us all a little A.D.D. Marketing folks have always sought out drivers' attentions using billboards, etc. Cellphones have become new appendages, and people have actual anxiety if they are separated from their phones (or travel and are without data connectivity).
Texting is bad enough, but web surfing is much worse. Inputting directions, checking traffic, or reading twitter news headlines. Waze social app requires one to break the law in order to contribute.
All in all, we're facked. Thanks, technology
Insurance companies are acutely aware of the change in drivers’ habits, and it’s why they run these events: to increase awareness amongst drivers and passengers alike about the hidden risks and challenges associated with using technologies such as lane-keeping assist, radar-controlled cruise, and, of course, smartphones.
While I love reading Andy's articles, I have a bad feeling that the "read count" on this article and those written by any others who attended this event will be...well...not a large percentage.
It'd be nice/smart if an event like this were a part of mandatory driver training, but considering that no form of driver's training is mandatory, that seems like an unlikely wish. Shame - it could save insurance companies millions instead of denying claims from those who are legitimately injured.
By the way, State Farm is one of the worst offending insurance companies as far as denying claims without reason to do so. It has now been acquired by Desjardins insurance, which is even worse. I can't give my recommendations about with whom to choose your insurance, but consumers should be mindful of their insurer's policies about deny-first, fight, settle for 20 cents on the dollar, and the like.
