Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps • Hacker News Board

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

#111

Post by flukus » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:44 AM UTC

treehau5 wrote: post #99

ramblenode wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if I've become more cognizant of bad journalism over time or simply hold journalism to a higher standard with the rise of publicly available data sets which could be used for real insight into questions like this. Whichever one, I am infrequently satisfied with the level of evidence that supports an article's conclusion. I would love to see a truly data-driven news publication that made quantifying uncer…

Statistics and data are a means, not an end. Narratives and conclusions must be made by people. That said, I agree a little more data wouldn't hurt.

That's the problem. I don't want my news to be narratives and conclusions.

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

#112

Post by flukus » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:47 AM UTC

debaserab2 wrote: post #105

jobu wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's unbelievable how far behind the technology curve most car companies are. We recently test drove a used 2015 Suburban with a touchscreen console. The MSRP for it in 2015 was almost 90k, and the touchscreen was laggy, unresponsive, and terrible resolution. 20 years ago I worked on a touchscreen point of sale system that was better than that shit.

Consumer electronics are designed to fail in 3-5 years. Cars aren't. If my 2012 Honda Accord started failing this year, I'd be really upset. If my 2012 iPad mini started failing this year... well, I wouldn't be surprised given it's age. I don't want my car's firmware failing or even slow when my ABS system needs to kick in because of an icy road. We must hold automobiles to a higher degree of quality and consistency…

You think the features of car touchscreens will still be relevant in 5 years? The point them in because it adds planned obsolescence.

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

#113

Post by IndianAstronaut » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:48 AM UTC

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...

As a cyclist in SF, have you encountered any self driving cars? Were they aware of your presence on the road and able to maneuver around you?

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

#114

Post by farright » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:48 AM UTC

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...

What would be cool is using the windscreen for an AR display, with glasses for both head tracking and for stereoscopic display.

I guess it would be expensive, probably too expensive for Uber drivers. Maybe it could still be used in luxury vehicles while full autonomous operation is in the works.

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

#115

Post by flukus » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:51 AM UTC

ajmurmann wrote: post #86

et-al wrote: post #12

As an aside, sometimes I wonder about how much more efficient we are today due to smartphones. Places where we've lost time: - at the stoplight, the driver in front of you is too busy looking down to notice the light has changed - in the bathroom, people check social media on the toilet - on the sidewalk, folks walk slower because they're pre-occupied with texting - meeting up with friends, it's more acceptable to be…

I think you are spot on with the bathroom. It's unbelievable to me how much time people seem to spend in there now. The last two times I've arrived in SFO and went to the bathroom I had to wait for a stall I ended up waiting about 5 minutes till anyone came out of the stalls. Meanwhile you hear notification sounds coming out of some of them. Likewise at work some people disappear in the bathroom for close to 30 minut…

I think it's more about the lack of fiber. I used to take my gameboy or a newspaper with me until I changed my diet.

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

#116

Post by FullMtlAlcoholc » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:53 AM UTC

ramblenode wrote: post #97

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…

I'm not sure if I've become more cognizant of bad journalism over time or simply hold journalism to a higher standard with the rise of publicly available data sets which could be used for real insight into questions like this. Whichever one, I am infrequently satisfied with the level of evidence that supports an article's conclusion. I would love to see a truly data-driven news publication that made quantifying uncer…

I'm not sure if their understanding of data or statistics has decreased, but the level of journalism has definitely taken a nosedive. A friend of mine in journalism school says they are taught that accuracy isn't as important as being first or having a clickbait thanks to social media

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

#117

Post by hvidgaard » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:54 AM UTC

m3rc wrote: post #34

niftich wrote: post #29

Apps are a plausible contributor. But I also noticed that some new cars ship with infotainment systems that consist solely of a (bad) touchscreen; as new cars slowly replace old ones, the number of cars with actual physical buttons for the music player or radio is dwindling. This is awful because the lack of physical buttons prevents the tactile feedback needed to operate the device without having to look at it. Luck…

I can't stand touchscreen systems. Instead of a single physical switch to turn AC on or off it's two latency laden taps. Part of it's menu design but I can't help but feel like it's always gonna happen with touchscreen centric designs.

It is not because of the touch screen, but because the designer was probably an intern.

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

#118

Post by flukus » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:55 AM UTC

ddeck wrote: post #41

miaumiau2 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you are saying, talking to a passenger "causes the same attention impairment level as someone under the influence of alcohol."? For sure there is a distraction, but it is definitely not on the level you described.

>So you are saying, talking to a passenger "causes the same attention impairment level as someone under the influence of alcohol."? That is not what they said at all. They are correct in pointing out that there is a great deal of evidence that conversing on a cell phone (even hands free) while driving is as dangerous as being intoxicated while driving. There have also been studies that investigated why talking hands…

I wonder how it'd work out with talking to or screaming at kids, who have no awareness of what's going on.

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

#119

Post by Tempest1981 » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:55 AM UTC

will_brown wrote: post #58

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...

Whether I am running or driving if I see a driver making dangerous u-turns or 3-point turns as of late it is always an Uber driver. I always joke on a run it's normal to almost be hit by cars multiple time and typically it is by the same Uber driver. Just last night I am running thru a crosswalk (w/signal) and a car makes a left into the crosswalk almost hitting the first time, this street has no sidewalk so I am run…

Hidden cost of Uber on cities/residents. Now we need more police to follow Uber drivers around continuously.

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

#120

Post by brchr » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 6:56 AM UTC

ramblenode wrote: post #97

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…

I'm not sure if I've become more cognizant of bad journalism over time or simply hold journalism to a higher standard with the rise of publicly available data sets which could be used for real insight into questions like this. Whichever one, I am infrequently satisfied with the level of evidence that supports an article's conclusion. I would love to see a truly data-driven news publication that made quantifying uncer…

Well said, and I share this intuition and desire 100%. I’ve been working on building a platform for data-driven journalism at https://numer.al -- It’s a prototype that turns public APIs into live D3 charts. (Working on embedding those into articles so that they stay up to date, link back to show their provenance, etc.) I think there’s a lot that can be done to bring journalism into the 21st century. If you’re interested in the things we’re working on, feel free to drop me a line: brian@numer.al.