"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/21/2016 at 14:58 • Filed to: None
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"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
09/21/2016 at 14:58 • Filed to: None | 0
| 9 |
As of January 1, 2015, Austin became a hands-free only city. Getting caught talking or texting while driving would be punishable by a fine of up to $500 (police are still free to drive while typing on their laptops !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). However, for the last 21 months, the law was barely enforced, if at all. That changed today.
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Mrs. Ttyymmnn called me this morning to say that she was seeing tons of motor officers on I-35 during her commute. It turns out that the cops had rented/borrowed a bus from Cap Metro and they were driving it down the highway, looking into cars, and calling a motor officer if they saw somebody with a phone in their hand. The motor officers would then swoop in and make the bust. I’m all in favor of the law. Heaven knows I’ve seen plenty of people driving obliviously down the road while talking to their friends or updating their Facebook. While this sort of enforcement (arguably, in a traffic setting where traffic is going maybe 5 mph during rush hour) is effective on the day it’s done, it hardly addresses the overall lack of enforcement of the law. It’s a show, complete with the media along for the ride in the bus.
Ash78, voting early and often
> ttyymmnn
09/21/2016 at 15:13 |
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Ironically, our late-model car is more of a distraction with its pre-installed screens and electronics than my iphone EVER was. At least my phone has a semi-reliable Siri option. "I'm sorry, I don't understand 'Call Home you kids need to be quiet daddy is trying to make a phone call, give that toy back to your brother or I will smack the stew out of you.'" (yes, this really happens and we usually try to save the screen shots)
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ttyymmnn
> Ash78, voting early and often
09/21/2016 at 15:19 |
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Touch screens in cars are the work of Old Scratch himself.
Klaus Schmoll
> ttyymmnn
09/21/2016 at 15:30 |
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This reminds me of the speed trap marathon they do in Germany once a year. Everything about it is open to the public, you can even look up their specific locations online. It’s a big media stunt to “raise awarenes” or whatever that actually achieves nothing.
Berang
> ttyymmnn
09/21/2016 at 15:59 |
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I think the former CEO of napster was run down and killed by a cop playing on their computer (“working”) while driving, and I don’t think they even got a stern talking to, since you know, cop.
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ttyymmnn
> Berang
09/21/2016 at 16:13 |
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In TX, they made a special exemption for peace officers, since they have to use comms for their job. But that also means they can text their wives while driving, too.
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Berang
> ttyymmnn
09/21/2016 at 16:19 |
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It’s kind of weird, because there used to be this thing they used to communicate with using their voice instead of their fingers and eyes.
TheTurbochargedSquirrel
> ttyymmnn
09/21/2016 at 16:31 |
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Touch screens in cars are so dumb because you can’t find them by feel so you have to look. My dad’s BRZ is particularly dumb in that you cannot just dial a number while the car is moving. You can however navigate through the menus to your contacts and select the number from your speed dials a process which is way more complicated.
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ttyymmnn
> TheTurbochargedSquirrel
09/21/2016 at 16:34 |
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I rented a 2015 (I think) Corolla from Enterprise when my van was in the shop. The touch screen was low on the center of the dash, and perfectly vertical. You literally had to lower your head down to see it. It was terrible. Our 2014 Civic has a screen, but it’s not touch. And it sits right next to the speedo, so you don’t have to look very far to see it. The one in the 2016 Odyssey I drove was a disaster of poor ergonomics.
Justin Hughes
> TheTurbochargedSquirrel
09/21/2016 at 16:43 |
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Confirmed. Apparently you can cut the wire connecting the infotainment to the vehicle speed sensor to solve this problem. But that also eliminates the navigation’s ability to find your position in a tunnel where GPS is blocked.