Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
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Re: Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
#2I get it, but this reminds me of how my car doesn't allow my wife (in the passenger seat) to set up bluetooth pairing while I am driving.
Pretty inconvenient during road trips to have to pull off the highway, because the car doesn't trust that it's the passenger working the center console...
Re: Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
#3It seems like they could’ve used the occupancy sensor to detect a passenger.
A passenger playing a game on the screen which are also where your only instruments are located seems like an unnecessary added distraction so I’d say they made the right call.
Re: Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
#4I get it, but this reminds me of how my car doesn't allow my wife (in the passenger seat) to set up bluetooth pairing while I am driving. Pretty inconvenient during road trips to have to pull off the highway, because the car doesn't trust that it's the passenger working the center console...
absolutely absurd coddling of the end user
Re: Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
#5It seems like they could’ve used the occupancy sensor to detect a passenger. A passenger playing a game on the screen which are also where your only instruments are located seems like an unnecessary added distraction so I’d say they made the right call.
which are also where your only instruments are located
I think this is the most important fact to note here. If the primary instruments were on a separate display, this would not have been as severe of a concern.
It's another reason why having a single touchscreen as the interface of a car is a horrible idea.
I've seen a lot of newer cars where the instruments are all in the center instead of immediately behind the wheel, and I always thought that design was less usable and more distracting --- a glance downwards is easier than one sideways and down.
Re: Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
#6This was clearly a terrible idea from the beginning.
They presumable thinking was that autopilot/fsd would be driving the car so the driver could play games. At the same time they’re claiming that they aren’t responsible for autopilot crashes because the driver is always meant to be able to instantly be in control of the car.
You can’t really do both “the driver can be focused on non driving tasks” and also “the driver must be focused on driving”. That is obviously impossible.
Re: Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
#7I get it, but this reminds me of how my car doesn't allow my wife (in the passenger seat) to set up bluetooth pairing while I am driving. Pretty inconvenient during road trips to have to pull off the highway, because the car doesn't trust that it's the passenger working the center console...
absolutely absurd coddling of the end user
I've had enough close calls with people playing with their radio/hvac that I'd rather have everyone pull over to set up Bluetooth than end up in a ditch somewhere
Re: Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
#8Which brings up a fun question; At which point does pressing buttons on a screen to play a video game while driving cause just as much distraction as pressing buttons on a screen to manage your windshield wipers / drive mode / HVAC / windows?
There used to be a lot of crashes attributed to "playing with the radio" in the 90's / 00's. Maybe all those buttons on the wheel and a display centered in the drivers cone of vision were actually huge advancements in safety...
Re: Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
#9It seems like they could’ve used the occupancy sensor to detect a passenger. A passenger playing a game on the screen which are also where your only instruments are located seems like an unnecessary added distraction so I’d say they made the right call.
which are also where your only instruments are located I think this is the most important fact to note here. If the primary instruments were on a separate display, this would not have been as severe of a concern. It's another reason why having a single touchscreen as the interface of a car is a horrible idea. I've seen a lot of newer cars where the instruments are all in the center instead of immediately behind the w…
I wonder if any research has been done about safety around touch controls? It's so much easier to reach over and hit a physical button or rotate a physical dial that you know is in the same spot every time without having to look at it compared to a touch interface that will by adjust depending on the app running. Like I appreciate the power that something like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto bring to the infotainment system but every time I can't control something from the physical buttons on the wheel I know I'm not going to be as focused on the road as I should be reaching over and hoping that I am correctly aiming at what I'm trying to touch and that's already after probably quickly looking away from the road to find where to aim in the first place
Re: Tesla bows to pressure, stops allowing drivers to play video games while driving
#10Which brings up a fun question; At which point does pressing buttons on a screen to play a video game while driving cause just as much distraction as pressing buttons on a screen to manage your windshield wipers / drive mode / HVAC / windows? There used to be a lot of crashes attributed to "playing with the radio" in the 90's / 00's. Maybe all those buttons on the wheel and a display centered in the drivers cone of v…
Honestly, I wish the powers-that-be would crack down harder on touchscreens in vehicles. There is no case where manipulating a touchscreen while driving is safe, for one simple reason: you have to look at the screen to use it because there's no tactile feedback.
They are truly, as that one book title went, unsafe at any speed.