Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

US government concerned about number of web gadgets in new cars ‎

Trevor Mogg
By

car interiorTo many people not addicted to the Internet, the following statement by US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood may seem obvious: “There’s absolutely no reason for any person to download their Facebook into the car.”

But for those who do feel the need to be constantly connected, LaHood’s words may have them breaking into a cold sweat. LaHood is becoming increasingly concerned about car manufacturers equipping vehicles with more and more gadgets that could distract drivers and cause accidents.

Recommended Videos

A Wall Street Journal report on the subject says that if LaHood comes to believe that manufacturers are overloading cars with in-car tech, he’ll use his authority to force them to hold back. He also wants car companies to make public service ads telling motorists to drive when they are in the driving seat, as opposed to texting and tweeting. LaHood has no doubts about the size of the task his department faces. “We know people are hooked on cellphones and texting devices.” he says.

People are becoming increasingly attached to their smartphones, and automatic cars with cruise control lull many drivers into a false sense of security, with the idea of sending a quick text proving too tempting for some.

Following Subaru, BMW is about launch an ad campaign to encourage more responsible driving. According to the WSJ, BMW’s ad shows a young mother trying to text and drive at the same time. Moments later, she piles into a sport utility vehicle.

BMW hope that its ad will prevent irresponsible driving behavior, thereby avoiding the need for a government crackdown on in-car tech, allowing the car company to pursue others forms of gadgetry. Chief executive of BMW North America, Jim O’Donnell, says that his company isn’t turning its back on the in-car media revolution. He recognizes that drivers want information while they are behind the wheel. “BMW’s approach is to manage that flow, not cut it off, such as by making brief bursts of information available on head-up displays,” he says.

Facebook fans will be glad to hear that General Motors’ Chevrolet Cruze incorporates what it considers to be a safe Facebook-update feature, executed by voice commands. The system is, however, still in the beta test phase.

The news of the government’s concern may not, however, be music to the ears of RIM, which is looking to integrate its PlayBook tablet and software into more cars.

LaHood’s department is planning to introduce a set of guidelines early next year regarding in-car technology. In the meantime, he’ll be wanting to see car manufacturers showing a responsible attitude to the subject, or else the guidelines may be more rigorous than expected.

For some drivers, the danger isn’t being distracted by in-car tech – it’s being distracted by people being distracted by in-car tech. Like when you’re in a long line of slow-moving traffic and you see the driver in the next lane lost in another world as they merrily text away to a friend. You look on incredulously before having to slam on the brakes just prior to putting your own car up the backside of the one in front. Tech or no tech – drive safely, folks.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Everything you need to know about Waymo’s self-driving car project
From Alphabet to Google, here's all you need to know about Waymo's self-driving car
Waymo fake city test

Although many of us believed we would have our own personal flying cars by the year 2017, that certainly hasn't turned out to be the case. However, in the next couple of years, autonomous cars will become a regular part of our day-to-day experience. Instead of taking the wheels ourselves, fleets of self-driving cars will soon shuffle us around while we tend to more pressing issues, such as texting, napping, catching up on emails, or flipping through Tinder. What a time to be alive.

One of the most promising players in this market is the newly revamped Waymo. There has been a wave of Waymo announcements over the past few months as the company inches closer to releasing its first commercially available autonomous vehicle. Here's everything you need to know.
What is Waymo?
For most of the past decade, Google has poured a war chest of cash into its self-driving technology. The company notoriously pioneered robotic car laws nationwide, and built a massive fleet of driverless pods that eventually roamed around Silicon Valley. Nonetheless, Alphabet, Google's parent company, eventually decided to overhaul the entire program. In 2016, Alphabet announced that Waymo would spearhead this autonomous driving project from that point forward. Rather than building the vehicles itself, Waymo would collaborate with auto manufacturers.

Read more
Millennial matchmaker: the 10 best new cars for the connected generation
best cars for millennials millinial car feat

The automotive industry may be in a scramble to secure engineering talent, but what it really seems to need are people who understand the Millennial generation. Every week there’s a new study claiming Millennials aren’t buying cars, or don’t want to drive, or would rather take Ubers everywhere.

While the data is mostly accurate, the responses and interpretations of the study results are way off base. Some automakers seem to think loading a new car with gadgets will automatically sell more of them. Perhaps worse are those that ignore any obvious differences between Millennial and previous generations, choosing to produce the same conservative models year after year.

Read more
Don't go into shock over the repair estimate after an accident with a new car
new car tech raises crash repair costs 2100417 wreck with a rolled over

Have you had a hefty repair bill or estimate from a newer model car crash lately? If you're involved in an accident with a relatively new car, get ready for a shock when you see the repair estimate. It's not as easy to cut out or remove a body part and replace it as it used to be -- not that it was ever cheap. Increasing complexity and added technologies in newer vehicles are hiking up the repair time and cost, according to AutoCar.

The British website reported that repairs for new cars involved in crashes between March 2015 and February 2016 cost insurers an average of 2,050 pounds ($2,714). Autocar quoted that cost from Accident Exchange, which said that the places on a car most vulnerable to crashes, such as bumpers and fenders, are often loaded with newer tech in the form of ultrasonic sensors, radar, and cameras. The tech pieces are also attached to or embedded in an increasingly wide range of vehicle body materials, often chosen or designed to trim weight while maintaining strength, which further adds to the cost of repairs.

Read more