Tag: drivers

New Laws: Commercial truck and bus drivers banned from texting while driving

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

Ray Lahood mimics phone

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims that in 2009 alone, 5,500 fatalities and half a million injuries occurred as a direct result of distracted driving. The problem is so severe that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (above) recently felt compelled to address Autoblog readers directly in an effort to spread the word about how dangerous it is to multitask while driving.

The Department of Transportation isn’t resting its hopes on Autoblog, though. The DoT has initiated the second National Distracted Driving Summit this week to shine light on the problem, and the government’s latest offensive isn’t going out to texting teens or phone-obsessed commuters. The early pressure is on drivers transporting hazardous materials, commercial truck and bus drivers and rail operators. LaHood opened this week’s summit by talking up new laws that ban commercial bus and truck drivers from texting and driving, while train operators can no longer legally use cell phones or other electronic devices from the driver’s seat. Companies are also getting in on the act, as 1,600 corporations have banned distracted driving, affecting 10.5 million drivers. Another 500 companies will reportedly follow suit in the next year.

Beyond new laws covering commercial drivers, LaHood and friends are also touting the results of heavily increased enforcement. In Hartford, Connecticut 4,956 tickets have been passed out to texting or talking drivers. Syracuse, New York police have issued another 4,446 citations. We usually get anything but excited when hearing about increased tickets and fines, but the results of the texting and talking crackdown are difficult to ignore. The DoT press release after the jump tells us that surveys and observations claim that phone usage is down 56 percent in Hartford and 38 percent in Syracuse. Further, texting is down 68 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Hit the jump to read over the press release.

[Source: Department of Transportation | Image: AP]

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New Laws: Commercial truck and bus drivers banned from texting while driving originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: Ambient interior lighting makes drivers feel safer

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Technology

Ambient interior lighting overhead photo Lincoln

Ambient interior lighting – a feature once reserved for the top-dollar models in many automakers’ ranges – is now becoming standard kit on a host of new vehicles. Ford, for example, offers ambient lighting on nearly its entire range of products, as do higher-end manufacturers like Audi and BMW. We’ve always found this to be a cool feature, if only as a nifty party trick to show your friends, but new studies show that ambient lighting actually enhances the perceived quality of interior materials and even makes drivers feel safer.

In a study conducted by the Lighting Research and Technology journal, drivers were put in a car simulator and were asked to give feedback on their overall spacial perception within the car. Researchers found that each driver’s visual senses were improved with the use of interior light – drivers said that the design and finish appeared more attractive, controls were easier to use and that overall, they felt safer. Interestingly, increasing the brightness of the ambient lighting had a negative effect on the test group – instances of distracting glare were reported.

It’s no secret that ambient lighting can improve the overall attractiveness of a vehicle’s interior, but with the added benefits of improved spacial sense and a subconscious feeling of heightened safety, it’s no wonder that more and more new cars are being fitted with extra LEDs inside the cabin. And to think, Meatloaf had it right all this time.

[Sources: Wired, YouTube]

Study: Ambient interior lighting makes drivers feel safer originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OnStar Says: GM drivers love Wal-Mart

Filed under: GM

wal-mart

Wal-Mart was the most requested OnStar search in July – Follow the jump to view the top 10

General Motors’ OnStar unit has offered turn-by-turn directions for a while now, and the service seems to be gaining popularity among subscribers. In fact, July was a record month for direction seekers, with over 2 million routes requested in the U.S. and Canada. OnStar has access to more than 13 million points of interest, but one locale was requested more than any other. The General claims that nearly 40,000 OnStar subscribers sought out a local Wal-Mart in July, enough queries to make the value chain the most popular destination of July.

We’re not at all surprised that Wal-Mart came out on top this month considering the sheer size of America’s largest private employer, and the other top requests read like a who’s-who of big business. Big-time hotel chains and major retail outlets dominate the top 10 most requested routes (the top 10 destinations list is available after the jump), but only one fast food chain and zero gas stations cracked the top 10. Hit the jump to read GM’s press release.

[Source: GM | Image: Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty]

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OnStar Says: GM drivers love Wal-Mart originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Study: One-third of drivers don’t know what this dashboard light means

Filed under: Safety, Ford

Remember the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire debacle from a decade ago? Thousands of the ‘utes rolled-over and much of the blame fell on insufficiently inflated tires, costing the Blue Oval billions of dollars to replace the tires on just about every Explorer still left on the road. The other fallout from Explorer-gate (or Firestone-gate) was institution of the Tire Pressure Monitoring System that’s now a legal standard on every car and truck built since 2008.

TPMS sensors constantly measure the pressure in all four tires, and when one or more tires is more than 25 percent below the recommended amount, a light illuminates on the gauge cluster. Most of us know the light (on right) and if you do, you’re among the 54 percent of drivers who know what it means. But more importantly, less than half of the population doesn’t.

TPMS maker Schrader recently surveyed drivers to see if there were knowledgeable about all things TPMS, and the results had to be a bit disappointing. First, the good news: 96 percent of all drivers surveyed felt that under-inflated tires were a serious safety problem. Now the bad news: Only 44 percent of drivers polled regularly check their tire pressure. Furthermore, one third of drivers surveyed didn’t know what TPMS was or what it was used for. Another 44 percent were unaware what the symbol was supposed to represent, while still another 14 percent thought the symbol identified a problem of the non-tire variety.

In order to combat some of the ignorance among motorists about one of its main products, Schrader has introduced its TPMS Made Simple website. While it’s not exactly riveting stuff, the site is chock full of information about TPMS, including what to do when that (apparently) inscrutable warning light in your gauge cluster illuminates (Hint: check your tires) and the economic benefit of properly inflated rubber, including improved fuel economy and longer lasting tires. Head over to the site to become a TPMS expert.

[Sources: USA Today | TPMS Made Simple]

Study: One-third of drivers don’t know what this dashboard light means originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class tries to overcome inattentive drivers

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class

2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class active steering correction – Click above for high-res image gallery

The refreshed 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class coupe is a prime example of how engineers are starting to take some of the disparate hardware technology that has been introduced over the last decade and integrate it to provide new functionality. The CL employs the various optical camera and radar sensors used for features like adaptive cruise control to help prevent accidents by first warning the driver and then intervening if the driver doesn’t respond.

We’ve had various lane departure and blind spot warning systems for several years now and like those, the Mercedes system starts by alerting the driver. At first, the blind spot system illuminates a yellow lamp in the relevant mirror, which changes to red and adds an audible warning if the driver doesn’t react. If the driver keeps moving into the path of another vehicle, a motor sends a rumble through the steering wheel and the brakes on the car’s opposite side are applied to pull it back in line.

Inifiniti has had similar lane-keep functionality for several years, but the CL is first car we’re aware of that integrates it with a blind-spot warning system.

Gallery: 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL steering correction

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Continue reading 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class tries to overcome inattentive drivers

2011 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class tries to overcome inattentive drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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