People do unsafe things when listening intently to turn-by-turn GPS navigation systems. This is an almost undisputed fact (see links below). I think perhaps the most dangerous is forgetting to activate one's turn signal before making a sudden and screeching turn.
Well the GPS unit knows that you're about to turn (or rather, that you are SUPPOSED to turn based on the destination you put in). Why not hook it up to your turn signals so it automatically activates them at the appropriate distance before a turn? This could be done with hardwire or Bluetooth. Could also be used to deactivate them after failing to turn for a set distance.
note: Nowhere in the post did I say it has to be mandatory. There are a wide variety of GPS units, each with its own feature set, available on the market for you to choose from. If you feel this inhibits your freedom as a driver, get a different model. As for me, I would feel a little peace of mind with something like this working for me.
Note also: It doesn't take steering or acceleration control away from the driver. The driver has full control of where the vehicle goes and when it goes there. This just activates the signal for you, which drivers are required by law to do, yet frequently fail to do. It's along the same lines as auto-dimming headlights for the safety of approaching cars.-- 21 Quest, Jan 07 2010 Here's your evidence, Jutta. http://www.uslaw.co...-devices.php?p=1227 [21 Quest, Jan 08 2010] Google search results page http://www.google.c...-us&og=gp&source=gp [21 Quest, Jan 08 2010] ...sniff...sniff, ... sniff,...sniff...smells like a rant...-- blissmiss, Jan 07 2010 Inspired by a rant, granted, but I stand behind the invention's merit.-- 21 Quest, Jan 07 2010 it is also a remote possiblity that the turn signal might remind the driver to turn-- senatorjam, Jan 07 2010 Naturally, it would also be courteous enough (to other drivers) to shut off the blinkers after making the turn, should the driver fail to do so.-- 21 Quest, Jan 08 2010 Sorry about your dead family, I changed my mind and wanted a cheeseburger. But it's not my fault, here's the number of the GPS nav company.-- leinypoo13, Jan 08 2010 (-) "Well the GPS unit knows that you're about to turn." No, it really doesn't. It can tell me something, but it's up to me to interpret the situational details and drive correctly. Don't mess with that control and responsibility.
// This is an almost undisputed fact. So, you don't have any evidence for it at all, then?-- jutta, Jan 08 2010 That reminds me...this one time I was driving to a crowded water park, and was stuck in a line of cars on the route suggested by the GPS through a residential/ light commercial area. By deviating from the GPS-suggested route by 1 block, I avoided the line of cars and a ~1hr wait time.-- sninctown, Jan 08 2010 From my first link:
//Since 2005, according to Dan Brucker of Metro-North railroad, a growing number of state drivers have informed police that they were following GPS devices instead of paying attention to signs at parkway entrances//
Judging by the title of 3 of the search results, it seems that approximately 300,000 accidents have been blamed on GPS in the USA alone. There's no shortage of testimony that blames GPS for accidents. Well I don't blame the technology, I blame the user. This idea is based on the sad fact that many GPS users apparently cannot be trusted to use it safely.-- 21 Quest, Jan 08 2010 A GPS I got with a rental car in Florida definitely gave me the shortest possible route, but with the prison sentence for trespassing on Kennedy Space Center restricted roads it probably wouldn't have been the quickest.
Until the GPS can actually recognize all applicable factors, it shouldn't be directly in the control loop even if some people already treat it that way.
And [sninc] that's going to get more common unless we have multiple different GPS algorthims or the units all have live traffic recognition, as the units are going to direct everyone the same.-- MechE, Jan 08 2010 Google Maps is pretty good at avoiding traffic if you tell it to find an alternate route or avoid major thoroughfares , and even has a very reliable voice guided turn by turn feature that has yet to send me anywhere I can't legally go. It also tells me a few blocks in advance of an upcoming turn.-- 21 Quest, Jan 08 2010 I think drivers who *aren't* using GPS and are unfamiliar with the area are much more likely to make sudden unheralded movements. The satnav gives one plenty of warning; without it, people tend to suddenly spot a street name and haul over at the last moment.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 08 2010 It could just remind you calmly to signal your turns. Every single time.-- bungston, Jan 08 2010 It could just remind you calmly to signal your turns. Every single time.-- bungston, Jan 08 2010 It could just remind you calmly to signal your turns. Every single time.-- bungston, Jan 08 2010 Jutta, it doesn't take steering or acceleration control away from the driver. The driver has full control of where the vehicle goes and when it goes there. This just activates the signal for you, which drivers are required by law to do, yet frequently fail to do. It's along the same lines as auto-dimming headlights for the safety of approaching cars.
By the way, I edited the post to remove the rantiness of it.-- 21 Quest, Jan 08 2010 sniff....sniff...sniff....[]-- blissmiss, Jan 08 2010 random, halfbakery