Road Safety issues

Richard L,
Agree

I recently read an article from one of the owner driver magazines. The article was about the spate of recent accidents between Melbourne and Sydney. One thing that was mentioned is that many trucks are now auto, with cruise control. Drivers are just getting bored, then getting tired. Apparently companies are starting to find it getting harder to find someone who know how to drive a manual.

I had an auto recently overnight for a test drive. I took it for a good run on the road, and for the first time, tried cruise control. Within half an hour, on a country road, I was bored, and starting to yawn. On the same stretch of road, I was forever going up and down gears, braking, ecelerating, etc and generally being alert.

Not sure where you are coming from, I disagree with your comments. Most of the younger gen like myself, I am 59 years young can multi task and find that these aids do make life and driving little easier. I use a sat nav for my work on daily basis I.e. mapping burn and fire boundaries, updating mapping data and the like. Cruise control is a very good aid to keep you within the posted speed limit and very beneficial on a long trip which I often do. Horses for courses I say!
Exmouth 1

Richard,
Valid points you raise. I can't comment on the cruise as i never use it. The GPS I use on the highway as a speedo which is less distracting than actually looking at the dash speedo, but that is just me.

My slant.1. Mobile phones, scary.
2. To many buttons to play with on the center consul.
3. The advertising campaign that says. Get out and walk around ever 2 hours
to stop fatigue. Great if you are driving refreshed, a disaster if you are
buggered. Couple of K down the track and bye, bye, sleepy, sleepy. Upside
down transport or tree destroyer. Have driven the odd K in trucks running
on empty.
4. Impatience. I can be guilty of that.

Good side.1. Air-cons. Slows fatigue.
2. Comfortable cabs and ride. Slows fatigue.


Good post Richard,
Keep it safe,
RA.

I will take an opposing view here Richard, as the variations are too great to lump DVUs and CCs into the "should be banned" basket. It gets down to driver responsibility and safe use of these facilities. An unsafe driver will be unsafe with or without these.

1. Aren't modern "navigators" sound based? I do not have this type of GPS. Surely if alone, being directed verbally through an unfamiliar city would be safer than struggling to watch traffic, lane changes as well as for the right streets.

2. Personally i do not like using cruise control, but for someone with certain injuries or medical conditions, resting the foot or leg whilst using cruise control can make for safer driving over the journey. These are not conditions that would make the person an unsafe driver, so i will not accept "then he shouldn't be driving".

Motherhen

Cruise I believe is an asset. It reduces fatigue, provides consistent regulation of speed and that should improve safety, particularly on country roads. It allows you to pay MORE attention to what else is going on around you and the road simply by removing the constant need to concentrate and monitor your speed. I have found this particularly pertinent in my case and cruise control is always the first after market accessory I fit should it not be standard in my new vehicle.

Divided attention is a very great risk and therefore you would have to say that any visual display that diverts your attention from the road is a bad thing…..however;

Most of these after market navigators are voice controlled. They are also designed to be placed in direct, straight line view of the driver, ie in the drivers field of view on the windscreen (directly in front). They are therefore still within a drivers view of the road directly ahead and would therefore be less of a distraction than a centre console unit. Those mounted or integrated into a stereo unit in the centre console are a definite distraction as any visual referencing requires you to look away from the road ahead. In that example, your stereo is also a distraction as are your heater controls, ashtray and anything else that diverts your attention from the road.

Also included in that should be Eating, Drinking & MOBILE BLOODY PHONES.

It’s interesting to note that texting and chatting on mobiles whilst driving is endemic across all age groups. It’s not just the young. I’ve seen many an older driver cruising down the freeway at 100 kph happily chatting away on his/her phone while towing a 22 foot van behind the 100 series.

Don’t worry, I reckon it won’t be long before all these things are incorporated into a Heads Up Display on your windscreen.

As an aside, study of Road toll statistics, particularly around single vehicle fatalities (metro and country) would not support your CC theory. Inattention and speed as causes yes but not CC as a contributing factor.


Cheers Mick

I think one should not gauge others abilities by the lack of there own ability........

Have you every use the item your referring to.

Over the year I have seen a BIG reduction in driver abilities to a point where it has become dangerous to other road users, the government push speeding (drop 5 campaign) as a way of avoiding accidents and you here on the radio things like "it's raining so be careful on the roads".......are they for real....... has any of it helped with the road toll.... NO.

Why do they keep spending tax payers money on some thing they know doesn't work.

The Government single handily has lowered the confidence and skills of generally good and safe drivers to a point of where they have lost there ability to drive safely and sensibly......

Speed and red light cameras have introduced a whole new way of driving styles...... people speed and slow down before the camera only to speed up again after they have passed through....... safe driving!...... again NO.

As for people falling asleep when on cruise.... are you for real...... why not blame the real cause... the nut behind the wheel..... as soon as I feel tired I stop.

Cruise control actually reduces road toll by having people maintain there speed and lower drive fatigue.

I have followed many where their speed has fluctuated by as much as 30Kph over or under the posed limit.

Thanks for starting the conversation Richard and interesting to see the different opinions. I think that cruise control (used in appropriate circumstances) is a huge bonus. Not just for points on the licence, but I believe it helps to reduce fatigue enormously. As Mick O points out, constant monitoring of the speedo actually distracts quite significantly from looking around you. Even the lumbering 4WDs that most of us drive are very capable of sneaking 5 Km/h over the speed limit quite quickly. Not sure I agree that CC creates boredom, and hence sleep. I would suggest that the opposite is the case; the constant effort required to closely monitor speed more likely leads to additional fatigue over time. Certainly the aviation industry has long recognised this problem as part of cockpit design.

As for in-dash displays, agree that they can be a distraction but, as always, it comes down to how they are used. It would be hard to argue that turn-by-turn voice directions are in any way more distracting than a paper map balanced on the lap.

Olcoolone raises an interesting point with regards to roadside distractions. The amount of inane and pointless signage which 'litters' the roadside is unbelievable. Particularly at night in helping to destroy night vision with the reflection from a sign asking me if I am yawning. Thanks a lot. I wasn't yawning until you mentioned it.

Cheers,

Matt.

Well guys or gals as the case may be, some very interesting observations. A couple of comments
Exmouth uses vdu for mapping... great but he wouldn't use it while in motion and cc stops him getting speeding tickets!!! this also appears to be the attraction of others as well
Micko is also of the opinion that cc REDUCES fatigue
Olcoolone comments on driver ability...surely cc is another example of REDUCING driver ability

However I think allot of you have missed my point on cc. I was not arguing that cc was a factor in fatigue but quite the reverse really ie the effect of cc once fatigue has kicked in and the subsequent outcome compared to the same situation under manual control.
I agree voice activated vdu's probably vey helpfull (drives me insane) but there is still a moving map display tempting people to play with and look at that is the part i feel shold not be visible to the driver
And as a final shot...using cc just to avoid speeding fines????

Cheers everyone
Richard

Richard, It is obvious that you do not like these "New" driver aids. Perhaps you are still in the horse and buggy age and have not learnt to move on and utilise these aids which not only make driving easier but also much safer.

Sat Navs, yes these do have screens but every one that I have used and seen give voice guidance. In a strange city or even out in the bush, they help you to get into the correct lane well before you need to be there thus removing the need for lane changes at the last moment.

Cruise Control is a great tool to maintain a constant speed and not "go over" the limit by accident, particularly on long downhill runs. I'm not sure that you are correct that when you get tired, you unconsciously ease off the accelerator. I think you are just as likely to speed up as slow down. Do you have any actual proof that drivers slow down when they loose concentration???

Automatic Transmissions, Are you for or against them? They certainly reduce the work needed by the driver, especially in heavy traffic or in hilly country. I have had manual transmission cars for many years and now have an auto 4WD. The difference in reduced fatigue is noticeable.

What about reversing cameras, parking distance devices, and how do you feel about cars that can park themselves? Mercedes, Volvo, Audi, BMW's and even some Toyota's have radar cruise control which stop you from getting too close to the vehicle in front. Surely this is a great safety device and one that should be more widely available.

I'm personally in favour of all the new driver assist technology that is becoming available and we would be stupid to stick our heads in the sand and say "ban them all". If anyone cannot understand how to use them and is not prepared to try them, then by all means don't use them but suggesting that just because you cannot understand or use them or do not like using them, then don't get on your high horse and lobby to ban them for everyone.

There, I feel better now :)

Sn00py2

I can not agree that either sat nav or cruse controll are bad things.

The problem lies with the fact that there is no specific or required training for either, and there is no public safety information circulated or published about them.

I learned about GPS in a marine environment where it is well known a publicised that you must know where you are going and what you should be independednt of the GPS.....

I do use an incar GPS, but I almost always look in a paper directory first......

If correctly operated, once the destination is selected there should be little need to touch the GPS in a car......in unfamiliar areas the line guidance can be very helpfull and reduce confusion and indecision.
In a heavy vehicle, you can not depend on the GPS taking you the best way......but if it saves you from missing a single turn in a day......it can realy make your day and save you a hell of a lot of frustration and fatigue.

BUT the issue is dependence........if you know what you should be doing and more or less where you are going......they can be a very profitable AID.

The issue is very similar with cruse controll........thay can allow a fatigued driver to contiune longer than they should......but the managing of fatigue is a seperate issue.

If used wisely and where appropriate, they can reduce fatigue considerably....the driver can then concentrate on doing propper observations.

Those observations will then prompt the driver to switch in and out of cruse controll and make fine adjustments to regulate following distances and the like.

Again if used wisely cruse controll is a great thing....but all too often people use it as a lazy choice......and very often stay in cruse controll when they should have kicked out.

Very few people have any idea of driving stratigicly.....for example managing following distance any more than for colision prevention........no idea of managing following distance to account for variations of the driver in front...very little idea of making room for a calm run up for a passing manover..and knowing where the next likely safe oportunity is.

Same with auto transmissions...I am not keen on autos...but when I drive one I drive it.....a great many people buy autos because they realy don't want to drive at all.

If you are practicing the craft of driving, making all the frequent observations that are realy required, looking a head and constantly working your stratergy, these device should not creat a problem any more than the radio.

the difference is being lazy and dependent rather tha using the technology activly as an aid.

Cheers

Ineresting credentials from this guy.

he thinks he's an expert.

he thinks he is the onlyone who has driven a truck on outback roads

just because he cant handle cruise control............it should be banned?

cant handle a satnav??

sounds like he should be banned and should hand his licenec in.............

The OP is a dumb bleep . I wish I will not receive any correspondence fromm this website ever again, I'm sick of whingiing old bleep s crapping on about desert daisys and shitting in the desert