With all the new hands-free cell phone laws hitting the books these days, there is a lot of press about the distracted American driver. I am not doubting that. In the old days we had fiddling with the radio. Now we have the cell phone. Soon we will have internet and tv connected cars.
Over the last few years there has been lots of talk about TV and video dash displays in American cars from manufacturers, and lots of argument back from citizens groups opposed to the idea of more distractions on the road.
Well, one thing I have noticed lately is that that dream (nightmare?) is already a reality in Japan. It is not uncommon to see Japanese drivers stopped at lights watching cooking programs or game shows. At night you can see the bright screen lit up in the center consoles of so many cars speeding down the road.
The skeptics are right: once TVs get in cars everyone will be watching. But does that mean they are right that the TV screen will turn drivers into distracted pilots of rolling weapons?
That much, I think, is still up for debate. Of course the driving culture in Japan is different than my home back in the U.S., but unlike my local news, I have yet to see the Japanese TV screen lit up with stories of horrible car accidents and distracted drivers.
Furthermore, my own experience suggests that Japanese drivers are far better, more cautious, and more courteous drivers. Low speeds and narrow roads often mean pulling over to let other cars or pedestrians pass and high volume means a constant need to pay attention.
In my own experience logging hundreds of miles on my bicycle, I have only had one instance where I felt a driver had done something annoying. Even on the busiest roads with no shoulders (including bridges and such) drivers always drive safely.
This experience runs contrary to the idea that technologically connected cars create dangerous drivers. Even if Japanese drivers have a safer baseline, there would be some indication of it if these TV-capable cars really were creating rolling torpedos.
I don’t intend to say distractions aren’t dangerous, but perhaps we should shift our focus from removing distractions to improving drivers and, more extremely, making licenses harder to get.
Photo: Tark Siala
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As a professional driver and avid cyclist, I know exactly what you mean when you say we need less distractions in the car to keep people safe. With that said, I am actually installing one of these systems in my car right now. I picked up an in-dash DVD/Video player and it is sitting on my desk, waiting for me to install it later this week.
A couple of things. Drivers should not be using this to watch movies while they drive, or even while they sit in traffic. In many states it is actually illegal to have a video screen operating in view of the driver. As such, all of these devices have a link that forces the driver to be in “Park” with the brake on before video will show on the screen…. which can be easily overridden by the installation of a special module or switch by those technically adept.
Why am I installing this device? More and more feedback is possible between your car, your environment and you these days. Mapping systems, fuel economy information, in-car computing, even rear-view cameras; all are making their way into the cockpit of our cars. Previous systems like your old radio were designed to be operated by touch, you didn’t have to look at the controls to operate them. These new devices have more information to relay, but have yet to evolve to the point where you don’t have to look at them to get the information yet. Squinting at tiny screens while fiddling with little buttons on your TomTom trying to find a parts store is a sure recipe for disaster.
I’m putting one in because my wife watches Diggnation podcasts when we go on road trips, and the ability to add other video inputs in the future is appealing to me.
Hi Ian,
Thanks for the comment. I wonder why the Japanese counterparts do not have such controls to turn them off while driving. Perhaps I will ask at a dealership sometime soon.
That’s a good question. Maybe their “idling culture” overrides their sense of the safety issue and their laws follow.
That is what I would think on first pass, but in fact, the laws here tend to be much stricter about such things and I have never seen anyone idling just to watch TV. Usually if you are parked and idling it is to eat or sleep. I will try to track someone down who knows.
It is 2011 and people are dying, having severe accidents and even getting fired from their jobs due to Smartphones viewing, talking or texting, reading Kindles or tablets computers, etc. A bus driver lost his job, and thankfully did not kill anyone, while reading a Kindle while operating a public bus. A woman in California in in jail for 8 years for killing another lady by a rear end crash while paying bills on her Smarthphone. Thousands of crashes each day caused by cell phones, etc, distractions not to mention the national craze over speeds. Laws do not make enforcement. Culture has destroyed the concept of speed control and stopping at lights and signs. Over 250,000 people end up with severe handicap injuries due to car crashes. That includes: severe burns, loss of limbs, loss of sight, loss of brain function, loss of mobility (para and quadraplegic), etc. All because of seconds saved per mile? Are we that ignorant of the laws of physics, laws of man and the consequences of such idiotic driving? Apparently so. TV in a car? No thanks.
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