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Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps

nytimes.com

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Re: Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps

#221

Post by elcct »

usrusr wrote: post #155
elcct wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They obviously have agenda. Perhaps some restrictions on apps are coming into legislation and they want to "soften" the public on the matter or just "test the waters". Same type of "journalism" you can see in illegal drugs themed articles

> They obviously have agenda. Could a desire for safe roads be one? Drivers on smartphones kill.

Drivers that are not fit to drive kill. In this case drivers that cannot pay attention to the road. Smartphones have nothing to do with that.

Re: Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps

#223

Post by mnw21cam »

Ntrails wrote: post #219
mnw21cam wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do that in the UK in front of a police officer, and expect several points on your licence and a fine. You're only allowed to use a distracting device in similar circumstances as you are allowed to be drunk. Arguing with an officer that you are parked by the side of the road is not sufficient if for example you have the engine on. In some circumstances just sitting in the driver's seat while in possession of the keys…

The idea that using my iPod to play music results in a completely different response to using my iPhone despite the mechanism being functionally identical is laughable. I don't need to look at the screen to queue up the next song on shuffle, it's also no different from hitting next on the cd player... I also use google maps on my phone as a sat nav (audio only is plenty effective to get me places). Again, this is som…

It is just as illegal to drive distracted by a satnav as it is to drive distracted by an iphone in the UK. If you're holding it in your hand or looking away from the road to use it, then it is illegal.

Even if you aren't holding it in your hand of looking away from the road, but are significantly distracted, you can be prosecuted under the "Driving without due care attention" law as you state.

Re: Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps

#224

Post by m3rc »

Thimothy wrote: post #220
flukus wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree the tesla system is pretty bad, but software needs to be updatable. How many exploits do you think your 2005 land rover has?

Does it really matter if the vehicle is not connected to the Internet in any way? I mean, if an attacker has physical access to the insides of your car, all bets are off and is now his vehicle.

The issue is that an attacker could gain access to the inside of your car only briefly, but leave a device that continues carrying out the exploit

Re: Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps

#225

Post by scott_karana »

hvidgaard wrote: post #150
scott_karana wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Expensive compared to Tesla?!

Compared to other manufactures. We have 150% tax beyond 25% VAT, to make matters worse, there is hardly any tax on micro cars, so price differences are exacerbated greatly. For the price of an estate Volvo, one can buy no less than 6 micro cars.

I know it's a "premium" brand, but we're talking about self-driving cars here. What other alternatives _are_ there?

Only expensive ones ;)

Re: Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps

#226

Post by eternalban »

apsec112 wrote: post #65

Headline: "Blame Apps" Evidence given in the article: - "Safety experts say" that it's true. The experts are not named or quoted. No evidence or reasoning is given to support the claim. - Highway fatalities are up this year. However, they're still significantly down from 2007, when the iPhone was first introduced. Mobile has been booming for almost a decade - if we should "blame apps", why hasn't it been a concern be…

How is it possible you haven't noted that these devices affect a subset of population in a manner that can be fairly described as 'mesmerized'?

"going 115 mph" on Snapchat. Isn't the mere fact that someone would feel compelled to chat at 115 mph enough? I remember my younger days when I edged closed to that number going from NYC to Troy on 95 and even adjusting the tune or lighting a cig was a very deliberate operation.

If you are texting at that speed, some part of your rational mind has been short circuited.

Re: Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps

#227

Post by gambiting »

m3rc wrote: post #224
Thimothy wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does it really matter if the vehicle is not connected to the Internet in any way? I mean, if an attacker has physical access to the insides of your car, all bets are off and is now his vehicle.

The issue is that an attacker could gain access to the inside of your car only briefly, but leave a device that continues carrying out the exploit

And do what exactly? make the car crash? If you want to do that just cut a break fluid line, don't even need to open the car for that.

I mean, I take your general point, but I'm almost certain that 99.9% of people breaking into cars do it to steal them, not to install a virus that will track your location or make your car crash. Both of those can be achieved trivially without even opening the car.

Re: Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps

#229

Post by nommm-nommm »

marrs wrote: post #198
kriro wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There have been quite a few simulator studies that have shown significantly worse driving for cell phone users. Granted it's a jump from that to the real world. I remember one from a while back that showed that cell phone users were as bad as drunk drivers with a relatively low intoxication but they were bad in different ways (distraction vs. aggression). I'm sure there must be similar studies in real world settings…

If we're talking about the same studies, then they also found that it was equally distracting to be talking to a passenger. God knows how dangerous it must be to go on a family outing. In short, I'm skeptical about what those results really tell us. Having said that, I have some sympathy with the article. I fundamentally don't like touch screens in cars (it stops me from considering a Tesla). They require all of your…

Everything I've ever read indicated talking with a passenger was distracting but not as distracting as a cell phone. And cell phones are still distracting even of they are hands free. The most distracting activity is math problems.

Re: Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps

#230

Post by nommm-nommm »

edgyswingset wrote: post #56
bigethan wrote: post #49

As a cyclist in SF, Uber/Lyft drivers are the most dangerous thing going. They're driving by staring at their phone's map for directions and pickup/dropoff. Once they stop, they stare at their phone for the next ride. Very little situational awareness. It'd be nice if there was some sort of way for them to indicate they drive erratically. Perhaps by painting their cars all yellow or something...

My one and only experience using Uber was with a driver who had no clue where anything was, clearly wasn't from around the place, and from what I could tell violated two traffic laws. So what do I do, give him a bad rating? No, because this person probably needed the money, and a rating under 4.5 gets you shitcanned in an already rigged system. Quite the revolution indeed.

I took an Uber ride where the driver was totally unbelievable, couldn't be more distracted. Swerving while changing Pandora stations, accepting phone calls, diddling with his phone, diddling with every damn control in the car, and ran a red light. It amazes me there's people who not only believe it's acceptable to do this at all but acceptable to so this with paying customers in your car.

I didn't complain though. Why? I had already complained about another driver who was going 50 MPH down a narrow city street as well as being super rude and taking a ridiculously long route way out of the way. So I didn't want to look like a complainer or make it look like I was trying to get a free ride (they refunded my ride when I complained about the other driver).

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