Category Archives: distracted driving

BMW Motorrad Smartphone Cradle Debuts

Posted on 1 July 2016 by Ken Zino

As if distracted driving wasn’t bad enough, the BMW Motorrad Smartphone Cradle is now available at all BMW Motorrad retailers. In Germany the Smartphone Cradle can be purchased for a price of €195 ($217) including 19% added value tax. The … Continue reading →

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Distracted Driving Enabler – FCA Uconnect Adds Apple Siri

Posted on 2 May 2016 by Ken Zino

The FCA announcement comes as the latest data show that in 2014 alone 3129 people were killedand 431,000 were injured in crashes involving distracted drivers. Continue reading →

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Rand McNally Unveils Connected Car Tool

Posted on 12 February 2016 by Maureen McDonald - freelance journalist

With a starting cost of $399 for a tablet and mounting device, OverDryve offers comprehensive navigation including congestion alerts, hands-free calling and texting, collision warnings and music from multiple sources. With advanced features include back-up and forward cameras to alert danger or record a collision, and links with roadside assistance. Continue reading →

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Connectivity or Not? Pew Cell Phone Research Inconsistent

Posted on 26 August 2015 by Ken Zino

We have all been in these situations. Many who say that phone use is a social hindrance also admit to using their phones when they are in social groups. Continue reading →

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Infotainment Wars – Mitsubishi Electric’s FlexConnect

Posted on 22 May 2015 by Ken Zino

There is an ongoing automotive infotainment war escalating that has electronics companies vying with automakers over who gets lucrative consumer dollars. Continue reading →

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Road Rage – Texters Scorned the Most by other Drivers

Posted on 12 May 2015 by Ken Zino

According to a new survey just released the “Texter” generated the most fury of fellow drivers, earning the scorn of 26% of Americans contributing to the Road Rage problem. Continue reading →

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Wireless Technologies Leave Vehicles Vulnerable to Hackers

Posted on 9 February 2015 by Ken Zino

New standards are needed to close security gaps from hackers and privacy problems in vehicles, according to a report released today. Continue reading →

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Ford Finally Kills MyTouch name with Sync3 as Replacement

Posted on 12 December 2014 by Ken Zino

In a ‘one more time with feeling’ encore, Ford Motor changed its tune on its much-derided and pioneering MyTouch voice recognition system by saying today that its future generation of infotainment and touch screen systems will be marketed as Sync3 globally. Continue reading →

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AAA Blasts Automakers for Enabling Distracted Driving

Posted on 15 October 2014 by Ken Zino

The largest motoring organization in North America, AAA, is saying that hands-free technology now in widespread vehicle use is not safe and contributes to the Distracted Driving epidemic because of the cognitive distraction it causes. While 47 states have banned texting, it turns out that cellphone use is the equivalent of drunken driving. Continue reading →

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GM Throws Technology Gauntlet – V2V Cadillacs in 2 Years

Posted on 8 September 2014 by Ken Zino

GM’s CEO Mary Barra said yesterday that GM would offer vehicle-to-vehicle communication, V2V in that awful techie jargon, as well as vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, and ultimately, fully autonomous driving starting two years from now in a 2017 model Cadillac CTS. Continue reading →

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Audi and AT&T Price 4G LTE Connectivity at $499

Posted on 24 March 2014 by Ken Zino

What this does for the deadly distracted driving problem remains to be seen and depends whether the driver or passengers are surfing the web. There is also risk involved; electronics in automobiles are now the largest single source of customer dissatisfaction if there are glitches, dropped voice commands, screen crashes or problems connecting portable devices. Continue reading →

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Senate Commerce Committee Holds Hearing on Deadly Distracted Driving Epidemic

Posted on 6 February 2014 by Ken Zino

Automakers, phone companies, internet service providers, electronics makers, and above all consumers have thus far shown little interest in curtailing the use of electronic devices while in motion in spite of mounting injuries and fatalities caused by them. Handheld consumer electronic devices are equally troubling and unaddressed thus far by NHTSA. Continue reading →

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Chevrolet to Sell 4G LTE Data Connections Next Summer

Posted on 10 January 2014 by Ken Zino

What this does for the deadly distracted driving problem remains to be seen and depends whether the driver or passengers are surfing the web. There is also risk involved; electronics in automobiles are now the largest single source of customer dissatisfaction if there are glitches, dropped voice commands, screen crashes or problems connecting portable devices. Continue reading →

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Smart Phones for Dummies – a Modest Proposal

Posted on 26 September 2013 by David C. Smith

Smart phones may have Mensa-level brilliance, but they have spawned legions of dummies. So I have a brilliant solution: Bring back John Wayne. Why? Because the Duke, in numerous memorable films, insisted that anyone entering his town check their guns or face jail time – or worse, his every ready Colt. Continue reading →

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Infotainment Systems Transform Instrument Panels

Posted on 17 September 2013 by Ken Zino

Only a decade ago, the powertrain and performance of an automobile were the main selling points. Infotainment systems did not exist with virtually all light vehicles without any type of so-called connectivity to the world outside – no telematics, cellular, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Continue reading →

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