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Hardware

Gesture Control for Automotive Peripherals 221

Posted by michael from the talk-to-the-hand dept.
j-rock nowhere writes "An article in Automotive Design and productions' Field Guide to Automotive Technology describes a possible future method of controlling things like your cell phone and stereo while keeping your eyes on the road."
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Gesture Control for Automotive Peripherals More

Gesture Control for Automotive Peripherals

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  • jedi (Score:5, Funny)

    by frieked ( 187664 ) * on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:22AM (#6358193) Homepage Journal
    Soon, drivers will be able to command vehicle functions with the wave of a hand.

    Does this work on storm troopers too?
  • Driver makes gestures
    Car swerves down into a ditch
    Hands not on the wheel
  • looking where you're going is one thing, steering in that direction would be nice too :)

  • I dunno... (Score:5, Funny)

    by TopShelf ( 92521 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:24AM (#6358209) Homepage Journal
    Sounds like a recipe for a new rash of Road Rage incidents.

    "Hey, a$$hole - you gonna flip me off like that, I'll show you!" (swerves and cuts off guy who's just trying to check his voicemail)

    • Re:I dunno... (Score:5, Informative)

      by frieked ( 187664 ) * on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:26AM (#6358235) Homepage Journal
      RTFA
      the system has a camera positioned in the center console area pointed up at the roof so that the space in which the driver makes command gestures is essentially the same as where a gearshift lever might be. The thinking is to keep the operation of the system as familiar and natural as possible so that the driver won't be distracted from watching the road. (Another benefit is that since the gestures are made at a low level in the center of the vehicle other drivers are not likely to see them and interpret them as digital expletives.)

      • Re:I dunno... (Score:3, Funny)

        by iworm ( 132527 )
        digital expletives

        [snort] Excellent!! "..and I mono-digitally expressed an expletive at the other driver..."
      • Er... and if there actually IS a gear shift lever there? And if there isn't one, the driver probably doesn't drive stck, so performing any action in that space is neither "familiar" nor "natural".

        Bad design. How about making an autopilot that takes over when the driver is being an idiot?

      • Re:I dunno... (Score:2, Insightful)

        by SEWilco ( 27983 )
        One can either photograph a hand pushing virtual buttons where a gearshift lever would be, or actually put buttons there to be pushed. Including if there is a gearshift lever already there -- put buttons on the lever.
    • I want it to honk my horn and start driving aggressively if I flip someone off, not check my voicemail.
  • I'll give it a hand gesture all right...

    Watch for the neon middle finger to pop up from my truck.
  • What does the car do when you give the finger to the a$$hole that just cut you off?

  • Voice is better (Score:3, Insightful)

    by 3.5 stripes ( 578410 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:24AM (#6358213)
    hands free ya know....
    • Really though, voice recognotion is good enough to differntiate between different owners, my cell phone now will make calls if I tell it to.

      Why even bother with hands, they should really stay on the wheel.

    • not in a convertable at speed. not a good signal / noise ratio. Geatures solve part of this. also gestures a re popular in web browsers, but how many voice controlled browsers are there?

      i wouldnt want to talk to my car (too HAL) but ill wave to it, sure.

  • The car tries to go straight up!!
    Middle of the road...

  • ...was that my car would automatically beep the horn and flash headlights when I give a fellow motorist the finger.

    Does that make me a bad person?

  • People look silly enough talking on hands free phones while in the car. If they are waving their arms about at the same time they are going to look positively psychotic.
  • I have a habit of absent-mindedly fingerspelling when I'm thinking about something else. I suspect this would cure me.

    It might be a problem for those who use sign language to speak to their passengers, but then, maybe signing while driving isn't such a great idea.

  • Prevent RSI? (Score:3, Funny)

    by arpy ( 587497 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:27AM (#6358244) Journal
    Can't wait for this to be implemented for PCs. Maybe one day I can merely give the finger to my Windows computer at work instead of giving it the three-fingered salute. Certainly help prevent RSI.

  • Huh. My car is ahead of its time. (Score:5, Funny)

    by foxtrot ( 14140 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:27AM (#6358248)
    I already have this.

    If I place my hand on the device in front of me,
    and I move my hand to the left, the car goes to the left. If I move my hand to the right, my car goes to the right.

    There's a set of gestures I can make with my other hand to select something called a "gear". And the motion recognition even watches my feet, too!

    -JDF

  • A simpler way with little innovation required (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mao che minh ( 611166 ) * on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:28AM (#6358256) Journal
    How about a few buttons on the steering wheel that correspond to standardized jacks used to interface things like your celluar phone and stereo? The stereo part is already done (in most Acura's for example), now just add celluar compatibility and provide one of those systems that turns you car into a speaker phone and your done.
    • Standardized jacks in the steering wheel. Good idea. That way, when you turn, the cables can get all tangled up, and you have to pull over to untangle the mess and make that call.
    • The stereo part is already done (in most Acura's for example), now just add celluar compatibility and provide one of those systems that turns you car into a speaker phone and your done.

      no it's not. the controls on steering wheels are far from standard... they intentionally use a bizzare protocol so that it is 100% useless with any decent aftermarket audio systems. (sorry, the stereo in your honda oops I mean acura sucks compared to some of the real stuff out there.)

      If you think that the automotive manu

  • It's not the problem (Score:5, Insightful)

    by paranode ( 671698 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:29AM (#6358259)
    Politicians and inventors seem to think that the cause of cell-phone related accidents has something to do with their hands being too occupied. I think it's quite obvious that the real problem is that people can't focus on two things at once. I don't think any of these new laws or hands-free technology will improve anything because little Susy driving around in her new BMW SUV that her daddy gave her isn't going to be saved when she's talking to Jennifer about how her boyfriend Chad just dumped her and she changes lanes into MY CAR!

    • Re:It's not the problem (Score:5, Insightful)

      by brakk ( 93385 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:46AM (#6358421) Homepage
      I agree, I drive 90% of the time with one hand whether I'm on the cell phone or not. It's after I get off a call and I don't remember the last couple miles that I wonder how I was doing it. I know my subconscious had taken over and was driving for me, but what would have happened if I needed to respond quickly or little Susy merging into my fender. It's not the lack of hands that would be the problem; it's the lack of concentration on the road.

      (Although, I've noticed that when someone is in the car with me and I'm talking to them, I don't have any problem paying attention to the road. I haven't quite figured that out yet.)
      • "Although, I've noticed that when someone is in the car with me and I'm talking to them, I don't have any problem paying attention to the road. I haven't quite figured that out yet."

        Pretty simple. The passenger talking to you is part of your immediate environment. They occupy more of your sensory abilities that a cel caller. You only hear a cell call, and somewhat artificially at that. A real live person can be seen, heard, smelled, etc. Much more "real" that your phone call. Or radio for that matter, cons
        • "..when someone is in the car with me and I'm talking to them, I don't have any problem paying attention to the road. I haven't quite figured that out yet." Also, when someone is in the car with you, they know when to shut up. As the passenger, you're not going to say anything requiring an in-depth response whilst the driver is attempting a complex manouver.
          • And passengers are also able to notify the driver of things. If you're talking to a passenger and start to drift off the road into the other lane, the passenger will probably say "shit, look out!" while someone on the phone will be completely oblivious to what's going on.
        • I believe the real reason is that the person in the car with you is aware of your environment, and stops talking/distracting you when a situation arrises. They immediately realise that you need to concentrate. Someone on the phone will keep talking, and your brain will allocate effort to listening to them.
      • Maybe it takes more concentration to listen to a voice coming out of a speaker. When the person is sitting right there, you can get some of their hand expressions and a there voice inflections are clearer.

        Also, maybe when you are talking in the car it is just idle chatter, whereas on the phone there is usually a reason for the call.
        • I think the plain and simple answer is that we've been trained since age 4 to have good phone manners, to be polite to the person on the other line.
          We all know how aggravating and rude it is when the person on the other line is "distracted" by TV or something, giving us "uh-huh" waaaayyyy too late to have been paying attention.
          We want to avoid this in the car, to be polite, to follow our ingrained phone ediquite, and so we drive like apes on morphine.
        • Also, if for example someone pull in to cut you off, the person in the car will probably shut op for a second, while the person on the phone will keep on yapping away.
        • If that were the case, then listening to books on tape would be just as distracting as a cell phone. You don't need ears to drive, you do need eyes and hands to drive. In a crisis, your brain has a way of directing attention where it needs to be. So you can turn off your ears pretty easily. But not if you're looking at your phone and you don't know there's a crisis. When you are reacting to a close call, you don't think about what you're doing, you just do it. If you have to think about it, you won't be ab
      • You let your "subconscious" take over and drive for you, and you're worried about little Susy? It's people like you that I worry about...

        ~Berj
      • I read a study somewhere(can't find it at the moment), that studied just what you said. It stated that talking to someone in the car also is aware of the environment. If a car starts to turn into you, that person will obviously stop talking where someone on the other end of a cell phone will not realize what it happening.

        Also, the study took into a effect that more traffic can actually be safe at times. Once the repeition of your drive gets ingrained, if there isn't anything to keep you alert, people t

    • By your logic, we should eliminate radios, remove all passenger seats from vehicles (making it so only one person can be in a privately-owned vehicle at a time), etc.

      After all since drivers can't do two things at once, listening to the radio would be out, talking to passengers would be out, fiddling around with car seats, etc. would be out...

      No, you're right. We should make so the driver has NO DISTRACTIONS. I'm starting my campaign to remove passenger seats and radios from cars today!
    • Politicians and inventors seem to think that the cause of cell-phone related accidents has something to do with their hands being too occupied. I think it's quite obvious that the real problem is that people can't focus on two things at once.

      I think you're quite wrong. If that was true, it should also be illegal to talk to the passengers in your car. I think we can all agree that your average person can handle driving down the road and talking to the person next to them. They have to if the want to p
      • Big difference between a phone call and a passenger.

        A passenger is in the same environment as you, which means there's a second set of senses (semi) paying attention to what's going on outside the glass. A cell-caller has no such cues or abilities.

        Passengers also have vested interest in NOT bringing up volatile, emotion-laden, or stressful topics. OTOH the PHB is completely comfortable with chewing you out over the cell phone just like he would over regular land-lines. Most passengers are aware of wh
    • Maybe we should invent driving simulators for household phones, whith simulated hazards. That way people could train themselves to pay attention when they drive, in the safety of their own home.

      Make it so the houshold phone will not work unless their able to play Gran Turismo while talking.
    • Well put. This idea was entirely confirmed by a University of Utah study [utah.edu] earlier this year. Key quote:

      ...users of hands-free and hand-held cell phones are equally impaired, missing more traffic signals and reacting to signals more slowly than motorists who do not use cell phones.

      So hands-free phones do nothing to help the problem, regardless of the massive ad campaigns launched by both cell phone manufacturers and automakers to the contrary.

  • Gesture-Based Interfaces (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mcc ( 14761 ) <amcclure@purdue.edu> on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:30AM (#6358270) Homepage
    A loud clatter of gunk music flooded through the Heart of Gold cabin as Zaphod searched the sub-etha radio wave bands for news of himself. The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive-- you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure, of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same program."

    -- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

    My God, it's finally happened.

  • Make your choice... (Score:3, Funny)

    by adamofgreyskull ( 640712 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:30AM (#6358274)
    ..since facial recognition requires a camera and similar software, automakers could sell a security feature that would authorize vehicle operation based on facial features. Once the camera is in the car for that purpose, gesture interface becomes an inexpensive addition.
    but..
    Another benefit is that since the gestures are made at a low level in the center of the vehicle other drivers are not likely to see them and interpret them as digital expletives.
    So either other drivers will see your waving your hands thinking you're flipping them the bird, or your head bobbing up and down near the centre console as you try and get it to recognise your face...what a predicament.
  • Yeah... This is exactly what I need. I want to let go of the wheel and wave my arms around like a moron in order to change radio stations. More importantly, I want flipping people off to dial my ex-girlfriends. Better yet, I want signalling a left turn (right turn for ppl driving on the WRONG side of the road) to change the channel on my DVD player. They could combine this technology with the motion-activated PDAs to make caucophonious symphony of beeps and widgets powering up whenever I light a cigarette w
  • Going back to the days when in Driver's Education, they teach that while driving you should keep your hands on the wheel at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions. While you may move your hands about the vehicle to perform certain tasks as changing the radio station etc. using hand gestures to control things within the car gives us the same problem that we have now. This problem is that people are using the hands that they should be driving with to do various other things within their vehicles. A voice command syst
    • This problem is that people are using the hands that they should be driving with to do various other things within their vehicles. A voice command system would be much more valuable within a car as it would preclude the need to remove your hands from the steering wheel.

      Until you tune into some talk radio station :-)

    • George Carlin recommended keeping your hands at 9:45 and 2:15. That way you have an extra half hour to get where you're going.

  • Speech recognition? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Psyx ( 619571 )
    Hell, there have been car phones that respond to voice since 1986 at least. We used to have a GTE prototype. Gestures sound like a step backwards.

  • Sweet! (Score:2, Funny)

    by st0rmshad0w ( 412661 )
    Just get a bee into their car and watch the hilarity!

    Seriously, most people I see can't even handle driving when they aren't actually trying to do anything else, why are they being encouraged to do anything but drive?

  • Ultimate solution (Score:3, Insightful)

    by TheViffer ( 128272 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:35AM (#6358324)
    like your cell phone and stereo while keeping your eyes on the road

    How about shut off the cell phone, tune the stereo to one station and pay attention to the road.

    Solution: $0
    Chance to get into an accident/kill someone: less

  • What about hands on the wheel? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Ashtead ( 654610 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:35AM (#6358325) Journal
    .. or the stick-shift every once in a while.

    The big problem seems to be that the concentration isn't on traffic even with hands-off versions of mobile phones. True enough, there is not that gross inattentiveness associated with reading or writing text-messages, or other non-telecomms activities like applying makeup or reading the newspaper. Still, the concentration isn't where it ought to be during phone calls, I have experienced this myself, being on "autopilot" whilst talking. Enough to keep the vehicle following the road; but at the end of the conversation I realized I could not remember anything of what I had passed, even obvious things like small towns and intersections.

    On the other hand, this idea of being able to quickly get commands across to various in-car systems seems exciting. Being able to turn on a music selection with a flick of the wrist certainly is vastly better than an in-car entertainment system full of pushbuttons. I got one of these here, and I never am able to work it unless the car is stationary.

    • Why not stick with the physical interfaces for cellphone, stereo, etc, but DRIVE using guesture recognition? How cool would it be to just have to point in the direction you wanted to go? Okay, not that cool, but I still like the idea
    • The big problem seems to be that the concentration isn't on traffic even with hands-off versions of mobile phones.

      Yeah, the problem is trying to get the little rubber seal on the phone open and plug in the headset. I bought a headset, and it's great to use (despite the attention thing, which I totally agree with you on), but a lot of the time if someone calls I don't bother with it, because it's harder to try and get that thing in than it is to drive one-handed for a couple minutes.

    • The big problem seems to be that the concentration isn't on traffic even with hands-off versions of mobile phones.

      Confirmed by this study [utah.edu].

  • Research has shown that the largest affect of a Cell Phone conversation on a driver is in fact the level of concentration required to listen, think and converse with the other party.

    Not having a phone held awkwardly while driving is a big help but you still loose a lot of your concentration on the road.

    It sounds like an innovative control method but it still won't keep concentration purely on the road.

  • To deploy airbag... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:37AM (#6358341)
    ...cover both eyes with your hands. Airbag will deploy shortly. No peeking!
  • If driving was simply a function of keeping your eyes on the road, there would be no problem... the thing is you have to PAY ATTENTION when you are driving. I don't remember where I saw the numbers, but I remember recently reading an article that suggested hands free cell phone uses drive as bad and crash as often as those who do not use hands free kits.

    Now with the desire to integrate a LCD screens, DVD player, Video Games and a whole host of distractions I loath to think what driving will be like in the
  • >> But they're taking things a step further, because the work on gesture interfaces at CMU doesn't include physical touch

    The physical touch is important. It is important for the person to receive a physical feedback from the controls so that he can "feel" them moving.

    It is not coincidence that many people still prefer the old-style clicking keyboards that give a nice tactile feedback.

    btw. How are they going to distinguish between control and spontaneous gestures? Maybe the system will be forbidden
  • Can we rig it so that giving someone the finger deploys the airbag?

    Please?
  • According to the article
    "(1) cars are noisy, so that technology needs much more work and (2) many people simply don't like the idea: "I would feel strange if I had to talk to my car," he says."

    Personally, I'd rather give my car voice commands instead of hand gestures so I don't know where it comes up with #2. As for #1, I thought most modern cars (excluding cheapo cars like my neon) were pretty good at eliminating road noise. I suppose that would still leave issues with noise in the car such as radios
  • Ever since my 8-bit Commodore 64 with 64k of RAM I've was promised Computer Speech Recognition [scpcug.com]. I was able to train the C-64 speech recognition software to recognize commands like "North, South, East, West, Go up etc... " to play Infocom games like Zork [xyzzy.com]. Now we have cell phones with enough CPU power to process images, play Beethoven's 9th with a 16 string polyphonic orchestra to notify the user of an incoming call, but WE STILL DON'T HAVE BASIC SPEECH RECOGNITION. What's up with that?

    So is this the e
  • Ozzy trying to voice control the BMW radio... he resorted to gestures. Didn't work. Of course you have to be able to speak actual words and use more than one gesture to do any of this, so he and his two kids are out...

  • NOT the problem with cell phones in cars, dammit! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SuperBanana ( 662181 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:49AM (#6358446)

    method of controlling things like your cell phone and stereo while keeping your eyes on the road

    First off- my stereo in my car displays the FM frequency info in the gauge cluster, at the top, and I know all the controls by feel; the button groups are shaped with surfaces to let you recognize which button group you're on. This feature was introduced in 1989 by Audi, and continues in every single model they make- so this is solving a problem that doesn't exist, frankly. If one manufacturer can do it, any can- it's just smart design and a little bit of extra electronics.

    Regardless, The problem is NOT the "taking your eyes off the road" bit. The problem, time after time, is your mental focus.

    Researchers found that when a driver is talking on the cell phone, it's almost like they enter a tunnel of sorts- they loose their situational awareness(ie, "where are the other cars around me?" "what is my speed?" etc.) and sort of blankly stare ahead. You can recognize anyone in this "mode"; they look like some kind of automaton.

    Of course, the phone companies say "that's absurd, people in cars talk to the driver". That's right(even right to the extent that many states limit passengers for young drivers, who haven't enough experience)- but when you're talking to the driver (studies have shown that) you stop talking to them if the situation the driver is in gets complicated- ie, a merge, someone starts to cut them off, an exit is coming up, or they're looking for a turn to make- or even if the driver suddenly changes their body language- and even that act of stopping talking to them can give the driver a wakeup call. People on the other end of the phone can't do any of this, of course.

    But, have you ever wondered why the cellphone industry is happily embracing the hands-free stuff? They get to sell extra accessories at an absurd profit margin compared to the phone unit itself- and it distracts everyone from the much more "dangerous"(to them) truth- that people can't talk to other people safely unless they're in the car, ie, cell phone calls by drivers should be illegal PERIOD.

    • I usually hate "mod parent up" posts, but mod parent up.

      No, I still hate them. Mod me down.

      In other words, "me too".
    • The problem, time after time, is your mental focus.

      Yup. Thats what this study [mercola.com] found.

      According to the study, rubbernecking accounted for 16 percent of accidents reported. This was followed by driver fatigue, which was responsible for 12 percent, looking at scenery or landmarks (10 percent), passenger or child distractions (nine percent), adjusting the radio, tape or CD player (seven percent), and cell phone use (five percent).

    • "ie, cell phone calls by drivers should be illegal PERIOD."

      Come on, making something that is not a direct infringement on another person illegal is what should be illegal. I should be able to do whatever I want in my car while driving, even if it's really stupid. But, the instant that effects someone else (I hit someone/something) I should be punished accordingly (because I will have then actually infringed on someone).

      Studies have shown that computer ownership and fast internet connections correlate to
  • Hey, they use gestures to fly in Earth: Final Conflict [efc.com] but it looked a little to much like they were always being a bit inexact in their movements. Don't know that I want controls that have no feed back to them.

  • Keeping your eyes on the road is not the problem (Score:3, Informative)

    by YrWrstNtmr ( 564987 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:56AM (#6358505)
    Keeping your brain focused and in gear is the real problem with cell phones and other gadgets.

    "It's not just the physical distraction of holding the handset -- there's the intellectual distraction [newsfactor.com] of holding the conversation."

    "...cell phone conversations using "hands-free" devices are just as likely [msnbc.com] to cause dangerous distractions as those conducted on hand held phones."

    "There is a very substantial decrease in the amount of brain activity [go.com], the amount of neural activity allocated to driving, while you are simultaneously listening,"

    Hang up and drive.

  • You Linux people... (Score:5, Funny)

    by rampant mac ( 561036 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @10:58AM (#6358533)
    ...are so far behind the times! My new BMW uses Microsft's new embeded OS to enhance performance of my Beemer's traction control, safety system, and...

    HOLY FUCK!

    *makes vulcan sign*

    *crashes into tree*

    Windows

    A fatal exception 0E has occured at 0028:C004CDCF in VXD VNTFS(01) +
    00000B987. The current application will be terminated.

    * Press any key to terminate the current application.

    * Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE again to restart you computer. You will lose any unsaved information in all applications.

    * Pray that one of the above will work.


    Press any key to continue_

  • Dumb idea (Score:5, Insightful)

    by theLOUDroom ( 556455 ) on Thursday July 03, 2003 @11:03AM (#6358581)
    If I'm going to take my hands off the wheel, I want to do something quick and unambiguous, then out them right back where they were. Buttons and switches are simple, reliable, and give tactile feedback. When I flip a switch on my dash, I can feel it move, and heard it click. I know my will has been done and I can go back to driving the vehicle. With a gesture system, there will be a tendency to wait and see if the system has properly recognized your motions before returning your attention to the road This is bad.

    Steering-wheel mounted controls are the way to go. Control the radio with you thumbs and maybe dial your phone with buttons in the middle of the wheel.

    Controls need to be quick and simple. We don't have any laws saying you need a hands-free kit for your CB in any state that I know of because they aren't that distracting. A single button push or know twist will effect whatever changes you want, and no one hesitates to drop their mic if they need to, since they're desiged to handle it. Contrast this with a typical handheld cellphone: Tiny keys, poor tactile feedback, inefficient controls (volume buttons instead of a knob), tiny displays. Just think about how much time you take your eyes off the road to dial a seven digit number. Plenty of time to get you killed on the wrong day.

    Voice dialing (for ANY number: "five-five-five-one-two-one-two"), volume control knobs, and a single button that takes the phone on and off-hook should be mandatory for all cellphones used while driving. NYS already has a law requiring the use of a "hands free" kit, but AFIAK just plugging and earbud into your phone satisfies that requrement.
    • With a gesture system, there will be a tendency to wait and see if the system has properly recognized your motions before returning your attention to the road.

      With any phone system, there will be a tendancy to wait and see if the person has properly recognized your previous statement before returning your attention to the road.

    • Controls need to be quick and simple.

      I think you need to control your use of bold. Quickly.

  • When you stick your middle finger up will the car automatically flash it's lights, blare it's horn and swerve violently?
  • I hope it doesn't recognize gestures in the back seat....
  • Will there be variations of gestures for the individuals? For example, Italians love to use their hands when talking and they already have an informal meaning for each gesture, so it would make sense that they could define their own gestures. Then there's deaf people who know sign language. Could it be adapted to their own variation of sign? Lastly, there's the amateur orchestra conductors I see now and then leading an imaginary symphony in their cars.

  • The perfect interface (Score:3, Insightful)

    by teamhasnoi ( 554944 ) <teamhasnoi AT yahoo DOT com> on Thursday July 03, 2003 @11:11AM (#6358654) Journal
    for autos is right here [hickorytech.net]!

    I love old VWs, because there is nothing to mess with. It's about driving.

    Now it's about eating, calling, tuning, drinking, shaving, beautifying, watching, reading, screwing, eating, listening, drinking, and eating.

  • Studies in Australia have shown that it is the distraction of TALKING to someone, not the hand/eye stuff that is responsible for the increased accident rate.

    That is, the problem is not taking your eyes off the road, or your hands off the stearing wheel. Instead it is your attention off the road.

    In fact, talking with someone in the passenger seat, that has their eyes closed and therefore does not pause when the traffic get's funky, should cause just as much problems as talking on the phone.

  • ... make fist, extend middle finger....
  • Any technology that threatens this, the purest form of American motorist communication, is a technology we cannot afford.

    That said, I suppose the increasing size of the American ass is going to render the point moot, anyway. Video killed the radio star, but McDonalds killed mooning...

  • Every time Phil Collins or Led Zeppelin comes on, and it'll automatically change the channel?

    OK!

    Jon Acheson
  • If we outlaw gestures, only criminals can flip people off!

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