DOT Guidelines
The recent U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) release of its guidelines on the topic of distracted driving has spurred a good deal of discussion in the media. The guidelines call for automakers to disable applications in the vehicles center stack or infotainment system that allow drivers to manually access social media, surf the Web or send text messages while on the road.
All well and good. Very, very good in fact. Really, do we want drivers web surfing or reading text messages while driving?
More Distractions
But all of the attention is on infotainment systems. At DashboardSymbols.com, we see this focus on distracted driving as an opportunity to reexamine how vehicles communicate with drivers in general. Today’s advanced vehicles are in one form or another continually talking to drivers, either with warning lights and tell-tales or through short and often difficult to interpret text messages. This growing phenomenon is being completely ignored by the DOT and manufacturers alike, and yet poses a similar if not more serious distraction threat.
Warning lights and indicators have long been the province of a vehicle’s instrument panel and the preferred means of communication between the vehicle and its driver. An entire collection of automotive hieroglyphics has been developed and continues to be developed.
Now, vehicles with multifunction displays offer multiple screens to peer at while driving: text on navigation information, tire pressures, fuel consumption, telephone use, and more may be available. And each segment likely offers additional information through menu manipulation. These items are generally very easily accessed with controls mounted on the steering wheel, but the information displayed ultimately requires the driver’s eyes to absorb.
Warning symbols and indicators can already be problematic. Unless a driver has dealt with a malfunction in a given system in the past, the appearance of what will be an unfamiliar warning light can cause near panic. And with each new system comes a new tell-tale. The average driver simply does not have the time in a busy life to memorize all the various scenarios these indicators present. Thus when a new one appears, the question for the driver becomes ‘is my car safe to drive?’ That answer is rarely obvious and invariably leads to calls to roadside services or service departments.
And now, message screens are being employed to add instruction, explanation or general information on a vehicle’s status. The idea is sound, but the implementation lies squarely at the center of the DOT’s current concern.
Our perspective is that the driver distraction debate is an opportunity to step back and reconsider the entire landscape. Vehicles are in constant communication with their drivers, and are becoming communication hubs, bringing information and entertainment from without.
Voice commands are in play and offer a path to follow. Perhaps it is time for vehicles themselves to be given a voice. And not just for reading text messages aloud. In theory, it could speak aloud the meaning of a given tell-tale so a lay person can understand, or the status of tires pressures on request, and so on. Certainly there are challenges in implementation – variations in definitions, requests to repeat or no longer repeat information, etc – but it is time to consider allowing a vehicle to communicate its status through 2-way voice interaction. The iPhone’s Siri points the way.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
Surprise? FHWA finds roundabouts greatly reduce accidents
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), has released a study that finds that roundabouts, or traffic circles, can reduce fatal and serious injury crashes. By a lot.
Specifically, converting a traditional signalized intersection to a roundabout, the reduction can be as high as 78% and converting a two-way stop-controlled intersection can reduce fatal and serious injury crashes by 82%. Run a light or a stop sign anyone?
I run through at least one traffic circle nearly every day, and I have to say that reading the report was a ‘duh’ moment. Of course they do! Its nearly impossible to approach a circle at the same rate of speed as happens with other intersection types.
And the Allen, TX intersection combines highway access with a cross road and looks like a stroke of genius. The FHWA says the roundabout is considered an operational and aesthetic success, having received the American Public Works Association Texas Chapter Project of the Year in 2023 as well as a Top 10 Road Award from Roads & Bridges Magazine. The interchange is the largest and most recent example, but five other roundabouts have been installed in the City since the year 2003 and they are considered a viable solution in the right context.
Visitors to the east coast of the U.S. who have never experienced a traffic circle are often frustrated by the experience, but this is pretty much only due to to the lack of experience with the intersection style. Once mastered, they are generally simple to navigate.
There are more complex types involving multiple lanes and sometimes multiple intersections, but even these can be handled with experience. And the FHWA, along with many state and local agencies, continues to advocate for roundabouts to reduce fatal and severe injury crashes at intersections.
Something that this publication can get behind. The full report can be found here.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY