Bells and Whistles

Last December I bought a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee that has nav, voice commanded bluetooth, rear parking camera, and a big stereo. I do a LOT of driving in my businesses--23K miles so far in less than a year. The Jeep is my rolling office; I use the nav constantly, and am on the phone a lot. My previous DD was an '89 944S2, which had none of these things.

My wife and daughter have both commented that my driving is markedly worse in the Jeep than it has been previously. My daughter was following me the other night, and she said I she could tell when I was on the phone because I slowed way down. When I'm on the phone while the nav lady is yakking directions, it's really bad. I never listen to the radio or stereo any more--that's just too much more sensory overload.

I remember reading somewhere that during the Vietnam war, we came up with all kinds of warnings, beeps and buzzers for SAMS and other threats to pilots. In the study I read about, it was discovered that the majority of the pilots turned those warnings off, because they were too distracting. They preferred to just fly the damn plane.

I have a theory that the amount of multi-tasking that modern cars enable simply overwhelms most drivers, which accounts for a lot of the increasingly bizarre behavior I'm seeing--and apparently doing myself--on the highways today.

I should add that I'm a reasonably fair driver, and that when I get in the '88 911 for a spin, or drive on the race track, no such weirdness ensues.

Anybody else notice this in themselves?

[fanaudical]

I have definitely noticed it. I see several of my friends with the same issues - they spend more time fiddling with stuff inside the car than they do driving the car.

My cars are "austere" for a reason - minimizes distractions. I even insist on having all the "loose stuff" (paper, pens, sunglass cases, CD's, etc) stowed away before driving the thing. Phones get shut off when I get in the car. Stereos are never cranked way up.

The last couple of times I had rentals I found myself completely distracted by all the gadgets in the vehicle. I hated it.

[Rot 911]

Agreed. I get way too distracted. When I bought a 2012 Mustang I had to look long and hard to find one that didn't have all of the extraneous electronic gear. The car I sold had all of the gizmos and, like you, I was constantly distracted.

[wdfifteen]

In certain situations I find the GPS helpful. I'm less distracted than if I were trying to read a map, which I confess I have done while driving. The phone, iDrive, etc yes, they are distractions and add to the workload.

[scottmandue]

When I got my car it came with satilite radio "HA! No way I paying for radio!!!"

I made the mistake of playing with it (the radio) while under the trial period.. 200 channels mostly commercial free. So I signed up.

Now the thing is dangerously distracting.

[VINMAN]

The only real distraction I have in my cars, is my Sirius radios. no GPS.or anything like that. Not into excessive BS in my vehicles.

Originally Posted by VINMAN

The only real distraction I have in my cars, is my Sirius radios. no GPS.or anything like that. Not into excessive BS in my vehicles.

How do you guys handle all the radio chatter when you are on the way to fires? I always wonder about that. Of course, you do get to use lights and sirens to clear the way. But still, when I've ridden along with police, I've been amazed at all the multitasking they have to do. I'm sure you guys have just as much

Any pilots on this thread? I'd like to get their perspective, although I know there is a "sterile cockpit" rule on landings.

[masraum]

I have Nav on my phone. When I use it I keep it down on the console and don't look at it, but watch the road and only listen when it speaks. I stay off of the phone as much as possible which is probably 99.9% of the time. I too have heard that the guys that were flying the F4 found that they had sensory overload and would turn lots of stuff off so they could fly.

I think what we really need is a throw-back to cars that aren't so isolated and require the driver to actually drive the car. All of the advancements are great, but I think they are also part of the problem.

[VINMAN]

Terry, our depts SOG's ( and most dept's) are the guy in the officers/passenger seat, handles the radio, siren etc.... The driver just drives, and nothing else. A lot of drivers try to do everything and it is tough. Back when I was chief, I instituted that policy. I also teach Emergency Vehicle Response and strongly emphasise the driver just stick to driving whenever possible.

We also have headsets similar to a pilots that we wear. I refuse to use them. I dont like to be shut out from the sounds around me when I'm driving.

That makes sense, Vinny. That explains why I almost never see police or fire vehicles in accidents (except in movies). Of course, you also train people, a concept alien to the American drivers licensing system.

Steve--I agree 100%. I am a 15-year PCA driving instructor and I don't even like to talk much to students over the intercom. Much prefer to debrief them after the sessions.

Funny story: An instructor buddy of mine has a Cadillac whatever-it-is with the corvette engine. He brought it to the track. He was braking hard from about 140 at the end of the straight, and got a call from a concerned young lady from OnStar, asking him if he was OK because they had received a report of a "sudden deceleration from high speed." It happened two more times that same day. Talk about distraction!

[VINMAN]

You would be suprised at the number of emergency vehicle accidents. Just do a youtube search. There are a lot due to other vehicles not yielding, but plenty due to operater error

[azasadny]

I used to drive better in my '74 911 with no creature comforts than in my 2010 MazdaSpeed3 with all the toys. I paid more attention to the road, other cars, my driving and the car than I do now.

Originally Posted by azasadny

I used to drive better in my '74 911 with no creature comforts than in my 2010 MazdaSpeed3 with all the toys. I paid more attention to the road, other cars, my driving and the car than I do now.

I feel better hearing that. I pride myself on my driving, and I thought I'd suddenly lost my mind.

Originally Posted by VINMAN

You would be suprised at the number of emergency vehicle accidents. Just do a youtube search. There are a lot due to other vehicles not yielding, but plenty due to operater error

I guess I'm not surprised. Those aid cars look like top heavy pigs about to turn turtle. I pull over more so they don't fall over on me than because of the lights and sirens.