Dumb down the radio?

javaboy

I know a few people who fiddle with their radio a lot while driving. I'm not talking about just switching from one preset to another and changing the volume. I mean they will adjust the balance between left/right/front/rear, tune in new presets, adjust fade etc. all while driving at speed.

To me this seems really dangerous and I think the audio system functions should be limited while the car is moving. I know many new cars will have steering wheel controls but they usually only cover basic functions so I've no gripe with them.

By limited controls I mean:
Volume up/down
Preset up/down
Mode e.g. CD/AM/FM
On/Off

So what thinks the asylum? Should there be legislation restricting the radio features to the bare basics while the car is actually in motion? Do you think it's a hazard? Are there cars already doing this kind of thing?

P.S. I know there's issues like "what if I've a passenger who can safely fiddle with the radio?" or the inevitable modification of the radio to bypass this draconian safety feature but in theory what do you lot think?

P.P.S. I am not proposing there be penalty points for fiddling so no whinges about revenue generation.

Steve

OK I'm a non fiddler (thanks:cool:).

I've had the radio 3 yrs and still can't figure out how the fcuking thing works.

time to RTFM.

The Real B-man

Voice Recognition is the way to go when it decides to work

javaboy

The Real B-man wrote: »

Voice Recognition is the way to go when it decides to work

Probably but the few examples I've seen have been more distracting than anything else. You just get frustrated after the tenth time the climate control temperature goes up a degree when you actually asked it to stfu.

cabrwab

Talk about a nightmare to inforce!
I don't agree with people fiddling unless they are in the passanger seat.
I do know sometime radio stations can have heavy bass when the presenter is talking which i find annoying, but normally i will just turn down the radio!

pburns

Well it makes as much sense as prosecuting someone because they have 0.000000001 mg of alcohol in their blood from a pint they drank the day-before-yesterday. Or penalty points for doing 38mph in a 30 zone where the natural flow of traffic is closer to 50...

But yes, excessive fiddling does sound dangerous. Remote control on steering a must-have though for adjusting volume, changing channel, mode etc. I'm tone deaf so all those adjustments to balance/bass or whatever are a load of bollocks as far as I'm concerned...

Stephen

Balance/fader etc... who the feck ever touches those after setting them up on day 1?

javaboy

Stephen wrote: »

Balance/fader etc... who the feck ever touches those after setting them up on day 1?

Scarily a couple of people I know! My basic rule (I didn't realise it was a rule until I thought about it ) is that if you can't do something on your radio without looking at it, then you shouldn't do it while on the move.

buckfast4me

*guilty*, I am always at this. Changing cds, adjusting volumes/bass/trebles , changing stations, etc. It will probably be a penalty point offence in a few years. In some ways it is more dangerous than talking on the mobile, because at least your eyes are still on the road then.

cashmni1

Stephen wrote: »

Balance/fader etc... who the feck ever touches those after setting them up on day 1?

+1

wil

Stephen wrote: »

Balance/fader etc... who the feck ever touches those after setting them up on day 1?

depends who is in the back seat - kids, parents etc, they all complain - too loud, not loud enough, trying to sleep, havent you got any post retro neo jive classical punk beats?

A coroner friend of mine has investigated at least one death by car stereo fiddling. It happens.

What about sat nav fiddling?

Black_Knight

If they can warn a person in the passangers seat that they arnt wearing a seatbelt, they could use that to unlock the bass, treble ect.
Its easilly bypassed but its a deterant.
Then theres always the consequence of people trying to weigh down the passanger seat while driving and changing the bass, balance etc.

Common sense tablets are in order

Spud83

I tend to leave my fiddling to when I am at a complete stop.

Just as an added measure messing with an mp3 player while driving should be an offence. With a lot of cars coming with jacks for your mp3 player a lot more cars have them and the temptation to go searching for an album while driving is unreal. Again I leave it to when I am at a complete stop.

r3nu4l

Hmm, I tend to use pre-sets and volume only while I'm driving and in the Fiat Stilo, the default stereo has huge preset and volume buttons so you can't miss them

Wertz

wil wrote: »

A coroner friend of mine has investigated at least one death by car stereo fiddling. It happens.

What about sat nav fiddling?

One of the very few times I've nearly went into the back of someone it was solely down to my lack of attention in slow moving traffic and my insistence on naviagting my way through nested folders on an mp3 CD for a track I wanted to listen to...looked up just in time to notice that the car in front had slowed to make a turn (they indicated very late).
My new car has steering wheel controls for everything I need and no mp3 function so it's probably safer.

+ a million on the sat nav fiddling.
A lot more dangerous IMO because a driver may be trying to put in directions or read small graphcial text on an already small screen...but at least it's placement is usually closer to the field of vision you need for driving whereas headunits tend to require you look down toward the gearstick...

Ban devices? Not going to work...people don't pay any heed to mobile ban; a move like this simply criminalises more people and is for the most part unenforcable. Besides it's probably already covered by the "Failing to drive with due care and attention" law...

javaboy

Wertz wrote: »

Ban devices? Not going to work...people don't pay any heed to mobile ban; a move like this simply criminalises more people and is for the most part unenforcable. Besides it's probably already covered by the "Failing to drive with due care and attention" law...

Yeah I agree it's unenforceable. Satnav/jacked mp3 fiddling can be pretty dangerous too. I was just wondering what the general opinion on it was before I pass on my official recommendation to Minister Dempsey in theory.

Wertz

I'm sure Dempsey can come up with his own outlandish new legislation ideas without input from the general public...
:pac:
If he's stuck for some Mary White, Green Party has no shortage of them...