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Back in the dim ages, before almost all automobiles were equipped with radios, the idea of a radio in a car raised concerns that drivers would be distracted. Nowadays, distracted driving is a serious issue, but not because of car radios.
The U.S. National Safety Council reports that over 40,000 deaths and 276,000 injuries each year are related to distracted driving, and the trend shows no sign of slackening. And analysts believe that those numbers are seriously under-estimated.
The biggest culprits have been cell phones and navigation devices, and hands-free devices are only marginally safer. All such interactive devices are visually, manually and cognitively distracting to drivers.
But, just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, comes an article in The Wall Street Journal, on 9 December, that the automaker Tesla has, by means of a software update sent over-the-air to most of its vehicles, enabled occupants (including the driver) to play video games on the large touchscreen in front of the dashboard while the car is in motion.
Formerly, Tesla drivers and passengers could play video games only when the car was in “Park,” but the new update changed that. The WSJ reports that the new games are Solitaire, “Sky Force Reloaded” (a jet fighter game) and “The Battle of Polytopia: Moonrise” (described as “a conquest strategy game”).
This adds to issues Tesla faces regarding its Autopilot system, which has been a factor in twelve traffic deaths since 2016. Other automakers have similar hands-free driving systems that incorporate safeguards, such as infrared monitoring of drivers’ eye movements; the National Transportation Safety Board recommended, four years ago, that Tesla upgrade its driver monitoring system, but thus far Tesla has not done so.
Other automakers also have built-in limits on screen use while cars are in motion, but Tesla has only a warning that the games are intended for passengers; a driver can push a button to “confirm” that he or she is a passenger and then play while driving.
TRENDPOST: All of this reinforces points made in a recent Trends Journal article, “LOW-TECH SIMPLICITY” (30 Nov 2021), which posited that all the high-tech systems incorporated in modern machinery, and especially in automobiles, are not necessarily a blessing.
Besides exponentially driving up the cost of automobiles, such systems make cars more vulnerable to a myriad of electronic and computer-based issues, and make the industry vulnerable to problems like the shortage of semiconductor chips resulting from the ongoing snarl in the global supply chain; see “AUTO INDUSTRY CHIP SHORTAGE FALLOUT” (24 Aug 2021).
And, as this story about Tesla shows, all that automotive high-tech—even seemingly benign safety features like blind-spot monitors and lane-departure warnings—wind up enabling people to make stupid decisions (like choosing to text or play video games while driving) that put themselves and others at unnecessary risk.
TREND FORECAST: A return to simpler, low-tech systems would not only present profitable opportunities for OnTrendpreneurs®, it would make cars more affordable, easier to repair and longer-lasting; see “HI-TECH AUTO EXCESS” (30 Nov 2021).
It would also help discourage people from being inattentive, and foster a greater sense of alertness and situational awareness, which, whether driving or just walking down the street, is never a bad thing; see “KNOW YOUR ENEMY” (30 Mar 2021).