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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 30, 2011 at 9:55am

Crumple zones, ABS, traction-control, Wall-to-wall airbags, steel cages -these guys are playing bumper cars out there and they just want to go faster and spend less attention on what they are doing while being safely ensconced in their armored cocoons. 

 

This gets worse every year -but this bumpercar mentality is NOT compatible with pedestrians and non-armored vehicles like bicycles.  These guys believe they are not in as much danger when behind the wheel and their driving behavior reflects this. 

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Permalink Reply by Jason W on June 30, 2011 at 10:41am

There is a commercial that gets me angry every time I see it. Some luxury car, I forget. It ends with them pitching their cars as "Unbridled aggression". Seriously?!? Unbridled aggression?!? I hope the next person (cyclist or otherwise) that gets hurt by some road rager in these cars sues the living crap out of this car company for advertising their cars as road rage mobiles.

 

And yes James, they are arming themselves as road going bumper cars. Its the same "I drive an SUV cause when I hit another car I win" mentality that makes me cringe.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 30, 2011 at 10:45am

I would wager money that if every car steering wheel was required to have a 6" sharpened spike protruding from the center of it people would drive a LOT MORE carefully and respectfully around other road users. 

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Joel on June 30, 2011 at 10:53am

I saw the ad last night and was really put off by it.  Now, it is a good thing that automakers are trying to make up for the danger the drivers pose, but the way it was advertised came across as "you don't need to pay attention anymore!".

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Permalink Reply by Gecko on June 30, 2011 at 11:05am

This commercial?

Jason W said:

There is a commercial that gets me angry every time I see it. Some luxury car, I forget. It ends with them pitching their cars as "Unbridled aggression". Seriously?!? Unbridled aggression?!? I hope the next person (cyclist or otherwise) that gets hurt by some road rager in these cars sues the living crap out of this car company for advertising their cars as road rage mobiles.

 

And yes James, they are arming themselves as road going bumper cars. Its the same "I drive an SUV cause when I hit another car I win" mentality that makes me cringe.

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Permalink Reply by Jason W on June 30, 2011 at 11:16am

No, but that one is close. Selling road rage must be their motto now.

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Permalink Reply by Chris B on June 30, 2011 at 12:44pm

It doesn't have to be that at all. In a recent Scientific American I read about experiments where it was basically impossible for people to fully concentrate more than a few minutes, even when they tried. It is a simple fact of life: no matter how hard you try, you will lose concentration. That applies to all of us, in a car or bike or walking, or doing something less dangerous.

 

So, given that, this is not selling "it's ok to check your phone" at all, no where is the reason not seeing X (X=stopped car, whatever) given, just because it might happen, and does happen, to everyone, including all of us. And in fact, until we all are driven by robot cars that are much more perfect than we are, collisions from people losing concentration will happen.

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Permalink Reply by Gecko on June 30, 2011 at 2:38pm

I think given what the study concluded about concentration (or lack thereof), drivers should be making a MORE concerted effort to be as attentive and focused as possible more of the time.  I think despite its best intentions, this type of technology unknowingly encourages unsafe behavior by simply existing. 

 

Exhibit A: My coworker's car was hit in our parking lot, causing hundreds of dollars worth of damage.  The perfectly healthy, lucid lady in her 50's who backed into it was relying solely on her backup sensor to guide her without the mirrors or turning around.  "The backup alarm didn't go off" was her response to why it happened.  Simply because it exists, she became reliant on the technology to a point that when it didn't work, something bad happened.  Granted, no one was hurt except their wallets and their cars, but I could see the Mercedes technology having greater potential for human (pedestrian, cyclist) harm.

 

So my argument is this: Will this technology, simply by existing, cause people to become so reliant on it that if it should happen to malfunction or suddenly cease operation, bad things will happen?  And if so, should we be encouraging its use?  Or should we be condemning the advertisements we see for inadvertently promoting it?

 

Maybe I'm more attentive than most other drivers/cyclists.  I expect to see and be seen at all times.  I won't even answer my phone while driving, no matter who it is, and I only have the radio on when driving on the highway at normal speed.  I just think humans as a whole, and especially Americans and their car culture, are becoming to coddled and irresponsible, and this technology is merely accentuating an already systemic problem.  Granted, I'm a blue blood American and I grew up as a car nut, but too many people die or are seriously injured every year from something that is completely preventable from my viewpoint.

 

Sorry for the rant.  Discuss.

Chris B said:

It doesn't have to be that at all. In a recent Scientific American I read about experiments where it was basically impossible for people to fully concentrate more than a few minutes, even when they tried. It is a simple fact of life: no matter how hard you try, you will lose concentration. That applies to all of us, in a car or bike or walking, or doing something less dangerous.

 

So, given that, this is not selling "it's ok to check your phone" at all, no where is the reason not seeing X (X=stopped car, whatever) given, just because it might happen, and does happen, to everyone, including all of us. And in fact, until we all are driven by robot cars that are much more perfect than we are, collisions from people losing concentration will happen.

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