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Does that distract the driver? Like, as much as all the bing-y beep-y pointless shit that car manufacturers fill the car with? One of the things I hate about d

Does that distract the driver? Like, as much as all the bing-y beep-y pointless shit that car manufacturers fill the car with? One of the things I hate about driving the lovely quick silent eco-friendly Renault Zoes we have at work compared to my decidedly not silent or quick 25-year-old Range Rover, is that it's like driving a Fisher-Price Activity Centre. *Constantly* there's something beeping, flashing, lighting up, switching off, chiming, popping up a message on the LCD dashboard that's bigger and brighter than my laptop screen, or otherwise demanding my attention. The dashboard in my old Landrover has got four gauges, of which the only one I need to care about is the speedometer. Even that that, with the gauge illumination turned off you're either driving at the same speed as everyone else, or if there's no-one else you're driving at an appropriate speed for the conditions. It only beeps if it feels there's something drastically wrong, rather than "oh hey there's another car quite close to you better beep and light up a bunch of stuff so you're not looking at the car that's quite close to you". The Zoe has a fantastic "eco" button that will allow it to accelerate like a bat with the squits, up to 60mph and then hard limit the speed so the guy behind you who is also trying to overtake the same lorry you've just pulled out to pass gets a nasty surprise. No brake lights no indication that you're not accelerating any more, just WHOOOOSH THUD. Fucking stupid idea. Make cars simpler. Make them safer, by taking out all the distracting "safety features". Teach people how to drive more safely.

drewzero1 4y ago
I agree. I think the answer to automotive safety is not more technology or more car. Instead, we need less car and more driver responsibility. Too many people take driving for granted and don't seem aware they're piloting a two-ton death machine through a shared space. I drive a 28-year-old Saturn with zero gadgets and great rear visibility. I keep my lights on all the time to be seen, but nearly every week somebody tries to change lanes on top of me. I'm not sure if people are relying on their gadgets to tell them I'm in their blind spot, or if they just don't look where they're going, but I'm getting a louder horn before I end up wedged underneath an F250.
- HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
  > nearly every week somebody tries to change lanes on top of me I find this comment funny because it's exactly the same complaint my wife has when driving her F-250. "How is it they can't see this fucking massive white truck and still try to merge into me?"
  - Gordonjcp 4y ago
    Not long after I started my current job I was driving a literally Fire Engine Red Landrover Defender 110 plastered in high-vis and strobes. A guy on a motorbike sitting in a side road looked at me, made eye contact, looked away, and then pulled out in front of me when I was about two car lengths away doing 60mph, and wobbled off up the road at about 40mph. There was a great howling of tyres and sliding of things to the front, and some fine Gaelic words that I do not care to write down or translate. Seeing without seeing.

drewzero1 4y ago

I agree. I think the answer to automotive safety is not more technology or more car. Instead, we need less car and more driver responsibility. Too many people take driving for granted and don't seem aware they're piloting a two-ton death machine through a shared space. I drive a 28-year-old Saturn with zero gadgets and great rear visibility. I keep my lights on all the time to be seen, but nearly every week somebody tries to change lanes on top of me. I'm not sure if people are relying on their gadgets to tell them I'm in their blind spot, or if they just don't look where they're going, but I'm getting a louder horn before I end up wedged underneath an F250.

HeyLaughingBoy 4y ago
> nearly every week somebody tries to change lanes on top of me I find this comment funny because it's exactly the same complaint my wife has when driving her F-250. "How is it they can't see this fucking massive white truck and still try to merge into me?"
- Gordonjcp 4y ago
  Not long after I started my current job I was driving a literally Fire Engine Red Landrover Defender 110 plastered in high-vis and strobes. A guy on a motorbike sitting in a side road looked at me, made eye contact, looked away, and then pulled out in front of me when I was about two car lengths away doing 60mph, and wobbled off up the road at about 40mph. There was a great howling of tyres and sliding of things to the front, and some fine Gaelic words that I do not care to write down or translate. Seeing without seeing.