Touchscreen practical while driving? Safety issue?

[W.Petefish]

It won't let you watch DVD movies or access most of the settings menus (like to pair a phone - not that you would need to do that while driving....). You have to turn the key on, foot on brake, engage e-brake, disengage e-brake, re-engage e-brake to make that stuff work.

Then take your foot off of the brake.

 

[dsm363]

Actually, I was thinking more of a way to bypass that screen you have to click 'I agree' each time you turn Nav on.

 

[W.Petefish]

Can't do. That is done in the software and is hard-coded into the units. If you put a different FW on your navigation you can do that.

 

[bonnie]

Soooo ... getting back on topic. Anyone here on the forum that would block access while driving?

 

[Doug_G]

No, I think the touchscreen functions should always be available. I'm not about to browse the web while driving, although my passenger might want to.

 

[NigelM]

Soooo ... getting back on topic. Anyone here on the forum that would block access while driving?

Me. I hate it when people start playing with my dash while I'm driving. I find it distracting.

 

[jerry33]

I agree with NigelM, I want the screen to be where I set it. On the other hand, I want to be able to change settings when it is safe to do so--particularly on the Nav screen. The lockout just about renders the Prius' Nav system useless. Perhaps the Tesla voice control will actually work reasonably--if so, then it's a non-issue.

 

[W.Petefish]

I'm with Doug on this one.

 

[AnOutsider]

I'm with Doug on this one.

Ditto. Let me take responsibility for my own actions

 

[spatterso911]

Ditto. Let me take responsibility for my own actions

Same here. I think it would be ideal to "register the car" whenever the car changes ownership. Registration stored with Tesla. We can e-sign a waiver during registration which lets us acknowledge our responsibility.

 

[BYT_P1837]

I don't like the government telling me what I can and can't do. I don't like an association telling me what I can and can't do with my own property (so i would never buy a condo or a townhouse). I sure as hell do not want my car telling me what I can or can't do regardless of the reason. Let ME use common sense, give ME the option. Give me liberty or give me death! If you want to add a feature that can be locked down with a parent code that you the owner set and can be overridden my Tesla Motors that locks that stuff down, that's FINE! I want the power, no, I NEED the power to choose what's best for me and my environment.

It's all software, don't be hard headed about it...

 

[strider]

You guys talk about waivers but they're meaningless. The idiot who bricked his Roadster signed a waiver that he would keep it plugged in but what good did that do? The media doesn't care and once the bad PR is out there it's out there. Look at nuke plants after Fukushima - a nuke plant gets hit by an earthquake and tidal wave and melts down. Then Germany decides to kill all their nuke plants? Uhhh there aren't earthquakes or tidal waves in Germany. But it didn't matter, people just heard "nukes are bad" and not looking at what caused the problem.

So in Tesla's case some moron will say that he was reading his e-mail when he plowed into a bunch of kids walking to school and the damage will be done. I'm not saying that locking everything out is the answer, I'm just trying to look at it from the OEM's viewpoint.

 

[dsm363]

If they lock out the web browser, I would be ok with that. They should leave it up to the driver but your example is a reason why they might not do it. I would like to be able to change my navigation destination without having to pull over to the side of the road though.

 

[bob_p]

While (some) drivers may be distracted by having full access to the user interface while driving - that wouldn't apply to a front-seat passenger.

As long as there is any function in the car that is not directly associated with driving - it will serve as a distraction - tuning a radio, adjusting the air conditioning, adjusting the seats, ...

I've owned several Toyota and Lexus cars with their navigation systems - and they imposed restrictions while the car was in motion - they wouldn't allow destinations to be entered by name or address through the screen. But they still allowed destinations to be entered by scrolling around the map and then selecting a point on the map - a process that actually required more effort to complete than using the normal interface! My overall experience with the lockout was that (at least for me) it isn't necessary - and actually creates more distractions - not less - because things that should be simple - are made much more complicated by forcing workarounds to the limitations being imposed.

Tesla's design for the model S shifts all of the controls to the touch screen (and hopefully voice command). If they implement a high-quality, easy-to-use interface for the display, they should be able to reduce the distractions for the driver - plus with the ability to display some of the information on the dashboard directly in front of the driver - that may also help to keep focus on the road. And, with their ability to easily and quickly distribute updates to their vehicles - they can (and hopefully will) continue to improve the functionality and usability, based on customer feedback and experience.

Another possibility is to use the new vision tracking technology that is starting to be introduced in some vehicles, which uses a camera to track the driver's eyes to detect when the driver might not be paying sufficient attention to the road (such as falling asleep).

What if this technology could be used to track where the user's attention was being spent - and if too much time was being spent looking away from the front of the vehicle while the car was in motion - then a warning could be provided - and possibly a temporary lockout of the screen - until the driver gets back to watching the road...

Not only would this ensure the driver was paying attention to the road ahead - this would also allow passengers full access to the user interface - at all times.

 

[W.Petefish]

You guys talk about waivers but they're meaningless. The idiot who bricked his Roadster signed a waiver that he would keep it plugged in but what good did that do? The media doesn't care and once the bad PR is out there it's out there. Look at nuke plants after Fukushima - a nuke plant gets hit by an earthquake and tidal wave and melts down. Then Germany decides to kill all their nuke plants? Uhhh there aren't earthquakes or tidal waves in Germany. But it didn't matter, people just heard "nukes are bad" and not looking at what caused the problem.

So in Tesla's case some moron will say that he was reading his e-mail when he plowed into a bunch of kids walking to school and the damage will be done. I'm not saying that locking everything out is the answer, I'm just trying to look at it from the OEM's viewpoint.

Throw in a few quakes and everything goes to hell. Keep in mind that the New Madrid fault zone hasn't broken in over 100 years and the reoccurrence interval is about 150 years. (Did I mention that there is a Nuclear power plant about a stone throw away from it?)

In this case I think that a waiver might be in order. Mostly to relieve TM of responsibility for the locking the settings down if you opt to leave the settings accessible while moving through the touch screen. I do think that TM should offer the option or be able to unlock it at a later date. Maybe use something like Trapster for it's maps of the school zones and lock the screen down when you drive through an active zone.

 

[MarkR]

My bottom line is that distractions kill people and all Model S owners stand to pay a heavy price if our super 17" distraction is associated with an increased accident/death rate. I can easily picture an insurance company study that shows that Tesla owners are more likely to kill people than the drivers of any other car. Tesla's position in the marketplace will be potentially fragile when the S's hit the road . . . and I don't want anybody to die.

 

[VolkerP]

Look at nuke plants after Fukushima - a nuke plant gets hit by an earthquake and tidal wave and melts down. Then Germany decides to kill all their nuke plants? Uhhh there aren't earthquakes or tidal waves in Germany. But it didn't matter, people just heard "nukes are bad" and not looking at what caused the problem.

Want to insert here that Germany closed down 8 of the oldest and most unreliable nuclear plants for good, out of 17 in operation. Nuclear generation capacity was cut down to 60% by that. Yesterday, in Japan the last of 53 nuclear reactors was shut down for regular maintenance. None were brought back online since the Sendai quake. So while there was no government decision to cut back nuclear generation, in fact it was a total close down.

My bottom line is that distractions kill people and all Model S owners stand to pay a heavy price if our super 17" distraction is associated with an increased accident/death rate.

When looking at the "Volt fire" incident, it doesn't require any increased rate. Even some singular incidents will get picked up with delight - there's almost nothing Tesla can do about it, but making Model S as fool proof as possible.

 

[MarkR]

When looking at the "Volt fire" incident, it doesn't require any increased rate. Even some singular incidents will get picked up with delight - there's almost nothing Tesla can do about it, but making Model S as fool proof as possible.

Yeah. Tesla should try to "idiot-proof' the Model S, but big oil and the automotive establishment will still be looking for reasons to find fault.

 

[W.Petefish]

Yeah. Tesla should try to "idiot-proof' the Model S, but big oil and the automotive establishment will still be looking for reasons to find fault.

"Make it idiot-proof and someone will make a better idiot."

 

[jerry33]

"Make it idiot-proof and someone will make a better idiot."

Hard as that may seem.