Let me start by saying that I am not anti-technology. I may not be as proficient as some, but, I really think it is cool and exciting.
That said, today I got a rental car while my baby is in the shop getting a face lift after an unfortunate incident where a person hit the front of it while backing up. Them not me! Anyway, the car I got has all the latest electronic gadgets and whistles and buttons. The main console is a 8 inch screen that can be menu'd for everything including the current weather in Antarctica. If anyone thinks that texting is distracting, well, I want to tell you this is four times worse. (at the very least)
The assumption is that you will make all your settings before you hit the highway, but, that is a pipe dream. You're driving down the road and decide that the temperature on your side of the car is to warm. Under the old technology all you had to do was reach over to the climate controls and slide a lever or turn a . Your eyes never had to leave the road. Now, you have to scan the screen to find the control that is surrounded by a million other options. You have to look at it because you have to touch that part of the screen that indicates what you are trying to do. That cannot be done in braille.
This is not a rant, this is a prediction! There will be more accidents because of this stuff then texting ever caused. The real problem is that unless the person dies with his or her finger on the screen, no one will know the reason and it is unlikely that anyone that gets into a non-fatal accident is going to just tell everyone that it was because they were trying to adjust the fan speed. It took forever for legislatures to ban texting... how many will die because no one wants to take away the new toy of the decade or for some reason, that I cannot wrap my head around, do not feel that it is a problem.
Along those lines, has anyone seen the commercial for the car that takes care of everything for you. The guy crosses the line (the car tells him he is over the line), he then pulls over into another lane without looking (again the car corrects his mistake) then he is daydreaming and almost runs into the rear of another car (until the car stops itself for him). The car is wonderful, the guy needs to have his license revoked. An infant could drive that car. My suggestion would be, if you don't want to drive... take a bus.
That said, today I got a rental car while my baby is in the shop getting a face lift after an unfortunate incident where a person hit the front of it while backing up. Them not me! Anyway, the car I got has all the latest electronic gadgets and whistles and buttons. The main console is a 8 inch screen that can be menu'd for everything including the current weather in Antarctica. If anyone thinks that texting is distracting, well, I want to tell you this is four times worse. (at the very least)
The assumption is that you will make all your settings before you hit the highway, but, that is a pipe dream. You're driving down the road and decide that the temperature on your side of the car is to warm. Under the old technology all you had to do was reach over to the climate controls and slide a lever or turn a . Your eyes never had to leave the road. Now, you have to scan the screen to find the control that is surrounded by a million other options. You have to look at it because you have to touch that part of the screen that indicates what you are trying to do. That cannot be done in braille.
This is not a rant, this is a prediction! There will be more accidents because of this stuff then texting ever caused. The real problem is that unless the person dies with his or her finger on the screen, no one will know the reason and it is unlikely that anyone that gets into a non-fatal accident is going to just tell everyone that it was because they were trying to adjust the fan speed. It took forever for legislatures to ban texting... how many will die because no one wants to take away the new toy of the decade or for some reason, that I cannot wrap my head around, do not feel that it is a problem.
Along those lines, has anyone seen the commercial for the car that takes care of everything for you. The guy crosses the line (the car tells him he is over the line), he then pulls over into another lane without looking (again the car corrects his mistake) then he is daydreaming and almost runs into the rear of another car (until the car stops itself for him). The car is wonderful, the guy needs to have his license revoked. An infant could drive that car. My suggestion would be, if you don't want to drive... take a bus.
