US Safety Administration cautions against use of moving maps

Darren

The US National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued the first ever guidelines for in-car electronic devices, in a bid to reduce driver distraction.

The weighty tome, catchily titled "Visual-Manual NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines for In-Vehicle Electronic Devices" is aimed at car makers, and sets out the (for now voluntary) criteria for the use of electronic devices.

Amongst a long list of recommendations including positioning of displays, access to services such as telephony, internet, and text based information screens, Section V.5.b also have this to say on the subject of satnav, "dynamic, continuously moving maps are not recommended."

So the NHTSA want to turn back the clock and have us return to static turn graphics instead of having your live position indicated on a moving map. Their advice goes on to say that images should be static or updated no more than once every few seconds.

Sensible safety based idea or more evidence of nanny state? One thing is for sure, this may be voluntary now, but it would only take a few law suits in this famously litigious country to make this stuff mandatory.

_________________
Darren Griffin

matthewj · Frequent Visitor Joined: Apr 03, 2006 Posts: 751

"or updated no more than once every few seconds". That would be far more dangerous. When I approach a junction, I will often glance to check where I'm going and the general layout. It's a glance, and it informs me. If I thought "hmm, it isn't updated with the current info yet, I'll keep watching the screen for the next refresh to get the latest update", I'd be at risk of not glancing any more but having to concentrate on the device.

No normal user of satnav "watches" the screen continuously. Anyone who is driving by the satnav instead of looking out of the window is going to be having accidents anyway. Satnav should not be ruined because some people are stupid.

tsans · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 15

dcw · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 26, 2006 Posts: 2

What a ridiculous recommendation. A properly operating satnav system liberates the driver from mavigation problems and allows him or her to concentrate on the everyday hazards of the roads instead of peering at road nameplates and direction signs. A moving map allows the driver to take in the relevant information at a glance rather than staring at the screen as if it were a traditional paper map and today's crowded roads and fast moving traffic often present complex issues for the driver. Try telling a jet pilot or the captain of a ship that their navigation equipment should be deliberately impaired and get their view of the likely effect on safety. You have to wonder whether the people who make these recommendations have ever used a satnav or if they can even drive! They should be thinking about more ways to provide pertinent in-car information to drivers rather than cluttering up their field of vision with more and more reading material in the form of road signs which are sometines closely packed along the verge and obscured by high sided vehicles at the crucial moment.

Andy_P

DennisN · Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2012 4:05 pm Post subject: Re: Moving Maps

gem · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:10 pm Post subject:

M8TJT · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:19 pm Post subject:

Guivre46 · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:26 pm Post subject:

If you are moving then by definition any map format you are using is also moving as you refer to your journey's progress.
_________________
Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
Go 530T - unsupported
Go550 Live [not renewed]
Kia In-dash Tomtom

M8TJT · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 11:47 pm Post subject:

Which way does a paper map move then Shocked

Oldboy · Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 6:58 am Post subject:

Guivre46 · Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:23 am Post subject:

Well for want of a better term, from waypoint to waypoint as you select your next navigation objective and check your progress towards it?
_________________
Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
Go 530T - unsupported
Go550 Live [not renewed]
Kia In-dash Tomtom

M8TJT · Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:35 am Post subject:

There's always a clever dick who thinks of something that you havn't, isn't there Sad

Guivre46 · Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:27 am Post subject:

I was hoping to have a bit more real argument before the brawling broke out. My next line was going to be that looking out of the windscreen is a distraction from actual vehicle operation, so may be windscreens should be smaller to minimise the distraction?

This probably needs Confused

or

_________________
Mike R [aka Wyvern46]
Go 530T - unsupported
Go550 Live [not renewed]
Kia In-dash Tomtom

M8TJT · Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:59 pm Post subject:

No, it needs a Twisted Evil

or even

	PocketGPS
	Web