Are touch screens in cars dangerous?

[Pathca]

There’s an issue in the UK certainly with people turning down their cruise control to slow instead of using the brakes. I was on the M1 with my cousin driving my car ( she’s insured as a named driver) without displaying any red lights the car in front stopped dead. She hit the brakes on mine and I closed my eyes. We stopped in time but couldn’t understand why this car had come to a halt without touching the brakes until a friend said she’d had a go at her husband for doing it. Since hearing our story he has stopped

[curtis]

You can't "stop dead" with cruise control. By flicking the paddle you will just slow down as if you had taken your foot off the accelerator.

[Pathca]

Okay it slowed very quickly and stopped it was the absence of brake lights as a warning it was slowing which was concerning

[Blaze]

Call me old fashioned or whatever, but whilst I'm not against new technology, I have never used cruise control. The very thought of everything being controlled on a touch screen gives me the shudders. But it isn't just touch screens and the like that take people's eyes off the road - I see many drivers in front of me who look at their passengers when they talk to them. When I look in my rear mirror and see the driver's head bobbing up and down, I try to move ahead out of his orbit ....

The 4-voies between Saint Malo and Rennes is notorious for accidents, particularly at a couple of spots just south of Saint Malo where there's a junction and a very badly designed interchange. What are the main causes of the accidents ? Nothing to do with technology, but just plain speed and driving too close to the car in front. Perhaps if all cars were fitted with distance sensors which altered with the speed (perhaps they are already), some accidents might be avoidable, particularly if there was an audible warning to the driver behind that he was getting too close. The 2 second rule is fine at slower speeds but has to be "adjusted" at higher speeds.

[RobertArthur]

@ Pathea, need for speed? Head for the German Autobahn. But keep a close eye on that tiny dot far behind you in your left-hand mirror. Because a few seconds later, an Audi, BMW, Mercedes or Porsche will flash past. Speeds of over 200 km/h are no exception in the left-hand lane.

Nevertheless, there has been an ongoing debate for years about the need for a so-called ‘Tempolimit’. The German ADAC summarises everything here, including an international comparison of the number of fatal accidents. The central question in this debate: is 130 km/h not enough? Julius Caesar would have said: Germania est omnis divisa in partes duas: those who are in favour and those who think it's another attack on the German automotive industry and the freedom of citizens.

Incidentally, speed limits do apply in some places, for example near urban areas. These are clearly indicated with matrix signs. Nevertheless, it still takes some getting used to every time you drive on a 'Autobahn'. It does help somewhat that Germans generally drive in a fairly disciplined manner.

And something else struck me: in some German city centres, such as here in Erfurt, pedestrians can walk around at their leisure, talking to each other without raising their voices, silence is golden. Every now and then a tram passes by, but that's all. I felt as if I were walking around in the 1950s, having been flashed back in time by a time machine. Made possible in part by financial support from Brussels.

[exile]

When I left Germany in 2013, the ADAC were reporting that 70% of the motorways had a speed limit - often 130kph but can be 100kph or lower. This may all sound very sensible but it can lead to confusion. The worst stretch of motorway I found was the main route from Stuttgart to Munich where on one section there seem to be speed limit signs every couple of km with each sign having provisos depending on the type of vehicle, weather conditions etc. All very distracting for the driver.

[Lori]

Head for the German Autobahn. But keep a close eye on that tiny dot far behind you in your left-hand mirror. Because a few seconds later, an Audi, BMW, Mercedes or Porsche will flash past. Speeds of over 200 km/h are no exception in the left-hand lane.

No kidding ! I've only driven in the Autobahn during one vacation, way back in 2008. I swore I'd never do it again.

[Lori]

Head for the German Autobahn. But keep a close eye on that tiny dot far behind you in your left-hand mirror. Because a few seconds later, an Audi, BMW, Mercedes or Porsche will flash past. Speeds of over 200 km/h are no exception in the left-hand lane.

No kidding ! I've only driven on the Autobahn during one vacation, way back in 2008. I swore I'd never do it again.

[Lori]

Head for the German Autobahn. But keep a close eye on that tiny dot far behind you in your left-hand mirror. Because a few seconds later, an Audi, BMW, Mercedes or Porsche will flash past. Speeds of over 200 km/h are no exception in the left-hand lane.

No kidding ! I've only driven on the Autobahn during one vacation, way back in 2008. I swore I'd never do it again.

[Lori]

Sorry for the double post. Can't seem to delete it.