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I really hope he doesn't actually use Google Maps while driving at 70 MPH. That's a hell of a lot scarier than anything Google has done.
by joshuaellinger 13y ago
I really hope he doesn't actually use Google Maps while driving at 70 MPH. That's a hell of a lot scarier than anything Google has done.
- Piskvorrr 13y agoDepends on what your definition of "use" is - I, for one, have used navigation software while driving in excess of 70 MPH, in the following manner: the phone is docked in a holder within my angle of vision, display is on, map with directions is displayed, closest direction is read out at an appropriate time (note the absence of user input at this point in the use case, as the route was calculated and plotted before entering the vehicle). How is that scary?
- joshuaellinger 13y agoTurn-by-turn audio driven GPS is not scary. But taking your eyes off the road to read a 3.5" screen just sounds risky. I guess if you are on an empty highway in Texas, it would be safe.
- Piskvorrr 13y agoShortly glancing at a 3.5" screen - just off the steering wheel - to verify that I am where I think I am doesn't sound risky at all to me; I'm certainly checking several objects of this size (and further out of the road's direction) more often than I check the GPS anyway (rear-view mirrors, the speedometer, and the dashboard combined display, in decreasing order by frequency). Moreover, if you're doing 70 MPH, you're probably on a motorway - in that case, you should be prety well aware what's in front and behind you, at what relative speed, and how far. If all these are within a safe range, checking a nav unit shouldn't divert your attention for too long for any of these parameters to become unsafe, just like checking the estimated maximum range on the combined display. Of course, abandoning the driver's duties in congested traffic to play with a smartphone would be scary; but that's a different situation altogether.