A tweet from Mercedes-Benz USA advertising the in-car technology in its S-Class range has caused uproar on the social media platform, with numerous people suggesting that the potential for distraction could put cyclists and pedestrians in danger.
The tweet, that has now been deleted by the Mercedes-Benz USA account, said: “With up to five screens, OLED displays, and 3D displays with real-time eye tracking, the new S-Class has no shortage of bright ideas”; however thousands of people were quick to point out the potential issues, with Pompey Cyclist saying: I look forward to being murdered with one of these in the near future.”
Dr Anna added: “I just see dead pedestrians and cyclists. Mercedes sees money.”
At this point you might as well get a gun and just shoot every tenth cyclist and pedestrian right in the head https://t.co/nbzwzpnhiA
— Hannah ? (@theeyecollector) May 19, 2021
Ok
but all bicycles have chainsaws now
I don’t make the rules pic.twitter.com/O8APkxEsn5— ? Glendon Mellow (@FlyingTrilobite) May 19, 2021
It’s long been suggested that in-car technology such as touchscreens could be leading to more distracted driving; A 2020 study by the UK road safety charity IAM RoadSmart found that in-vehicle ‘infotainment systems’ impair a driver’s reaction times behind the wheel ‘more than alcohol and cannabis use’ according to the results.
While Mercedes’ example of in-car technology appears to be a particular cause for concern, other companies are trying to put tech to good use in an effort to increase safety for cyclists. Back in January, a proposed bicycle-to-vehicle communication standard backed by Trek, Specialized, Bosch and Ford was said to have reached a “critical milestone”, with Ford’s vice president Chuck Gray calling on more business leaders to join the initiative to advance the technology and set a definitive standard.
Still, opponents argue that the technology could increase danger for cyclists, as drivers could start putting too much trust in technology that may not be failsafe.
47 thoughts on ““I look forward to being murdered with one of these”: Cyclists condemn “distracting” Mercedes in-car technology”
I wonder if a case of
I wonder if a case of contributory negligence would succeed against Mercedes? It should.
We victims should rise up and demand that the law-makers ban such idiotic distractions, unless all driver defence systems, seat belts, air bags etc, are disabled, so that they feel as vulnerable as us.
I had a Saab in the 90s that
I had a Saab in the 90s that had a ‘night dash’ button which switched off the lights on every dial other than the speedo and even that was only illuminated up to 80. It was fantastic, zero distractions. If you needed to know something, such as low fuel, that would light up too. That’s exactly how these soft displays should work all the time.
Yep. I miss my Saabs
Yep. I miss my Saabs
lesterama wrote:
I am still driving a 2004 9-3 and love it to bits.
Unfortunately it is going down the classic Saab route of wearing out in small pieces. The dashboard knob that controls what is displayed is … unpredictable, at best, the passenger side electric window and central locking sensor have completely given up the ghost, and the driver side rear passenger door sensor sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t … etc.
Sigh.
I drive a Saab 9-3 that has
I drive a Saab 9-3 that has the night time dash button it is very relaxing when driving along the motorways at night time listening to the radio with no internal light distractions. I still get confused by the heated seat button and the rear window heater which are next door to each other both being useful in the winter. Thoughts of buying a modern car and the need to press screens and menus to select anything I need sends me into shivers of fear.
I used to have a Citroen C6
I used to have a Citroen C6 and it had this button too. Brilliant, it just left the glowing speed in Tron typeface (projected onto the screen!) and practically nothing else. Like the SAAB’s, anything important popped up.
I also miss my old Mercs which like many older cars used “theatre-lit” instrument lighting, wherein the instruments are seen by reflected light from shrouded bulbs in front of them. The glow is softer than illuminated dials, and less competitive with the view outside.
That this same manufacturer should be now criticised for complicating the driver’s attention, shows the arc Mercedes have taken.
You can demand all you like,
You can demand all you like, but until they’re not in the pocket of the party in power, you can whistle dixie
Not surprisingly, It seems
Not surprisingly, It seems Mercedes have deleted their original tweet.
Way to go for destroying
Way to go for destroying night vision…..
Who cares, if you light up
Who cares, if you light up the road like a mountain biker?
The great thing is, with so
The great thing is, with so many blinkenlights to distract them, motorists will never know they hit you, saving money on expensive therapy sessions.
It’s understandable that
It’s understandable that holding your mobile phone driving carries a steep penalty but what doesn’t make sense is this move to remove buttons and put features into touch screen displays. I was watching a review of the new VW ID3 which is their mass market electric vehicle and there’s no controls for the fans or heating, instead drivers have to navigate a central touchscreen instead. I know they’re not the first to do it but it seems complete madness from a safety point of view.
I’m feeling old now because I’m more keen to keep a hold of my older car than get a newer one, it’s still well featured but it has physical controls for everything which are logically laid out and with distinct shapes so they’re easily adjusted when driving and the main dash is simple focused on the speed and revs.
I’ve got a new VW Golf
I’ve got a new VW Golf without the buttons and to be honest there is nothing on that screen that needs to be touched whilst driving,You can adjust the heating and choose a radio station with voice control or the buttons on the steering wheel without taking your eyes off the road.One option i paid for that i think should be standard on all new cars is Head up display the speed limit/your speed and road signs etc are displayed on the windscreen.It was more distracting in my old car just looking down to check the speed.
The driving position appears
The driving position appears more like a van than a car. Also if that is all lit up at night when you are trying to drive you will probably be upset.
Not a good look for Mercedes.
The Giblet wrote:
Is there a good look for Mercedes at all??
Wrapped around a tree?
Wrapped around a tree?
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Nah, littering…..
It stikes me that touchscreen
It stikes me that touchscreen controls require you to take your eyes off the road. Controls on the steering wheel or on stalks are tactile and once you are familiar with them don’t require you to look away from the road. Touchscreens are clearly an unecessary distraction and should only be activated for controls that can be used when parked.
Don’t agree. The touchscreen
Don’t agree. The touchscreen in my VW has big icons and is easy to scroll, more eyes on the road rather than looking for small buttons.
Why did you ignore the
Why did you ignore the comment “once you are familiar with them don’t require you to look away from the road.” ?
Reagardless of the size of your icons, you still need to look so you will not being looking at the road as much.
RedRocket wrote:
You’re either looking at the road, or at the screen – it doesn’t matter how big the sodding icons are. Unless of course you are a chameleon with eyes that move independently of each other?
You might want to read up the
You might want to read up the TRL’s reports into driver distraction then. Anything that takes your attention away from driving is a distraction.
The TRL has been pretty clear that touchscreens provide a greater distraction than the vast majority of controls they’ve replaced.
Driver distraction isn’t new, we’re just more aware of its dangers now. An old friend of mine was changing the tape in his Ford Cortina as he drove home and only looked away for a moment to do so. He ploughed into the back of another Corina as the traffic on the dual carriageway had ground to a halt. This was in the 80s. Both cars were wrecked, but neither he nor the driver of the other car suffered injuries beyond a few bruises.
Don’t kid yourself about driver distraction.
RedRocket wrote:
How many facking buttons do you need???
Everything I need to drive is on the stalks, and I know where they are without looking.
Anything else that isn’t to do with driving is by definition a distraction and needs to be dispensed with. Touch screens are unnecessary – Sat navs should be set up before switching the engine on…..
iandusud wrote:
Germany actually attempted to ban some Teslas from the roads there because of the amount of distracting touch screens. I think they may have reversed course on this now, since there’s a Tesla factory being built there…
Was about to mention Tesla’s
Was about to mention Tesla’s as a prime example. They have had to revise the UI several times because basic functions that used to be easy to get to were several screens into the menus. Yes, it might be sleek looking compartment but if you have to swipe a screen to get to a menu to turn on Window Wipers, you are distracted from the road.
AlsoSomniloquism wrote:
Ah, yes. It’s coing back to me now. The example used was something along the lines of the lane assist function needing to be configured before it could be used. Obviously not something you should be dealing with on busy roads since it’s hugely distracting.
The big red virtual button
The big red virtual button that bleeps, You are exceeding the 30 mph speed limit, is not one of the options. My main gripe is that drivers of these ‘advanced’ set of cars have very little awareness of how quick they are going on a road – down to the isolation/bubble they are in when driving these things. Driver training is also p poor, to the extent that drivers are not trained, just put through a method of achieving a licence.
I’m completely against these
I’m completely against these massive infotainment screens. Good driving requires full concentration on the road ahead – not these devices. I remember having a test drive in a Focus, and found it slightly distracting…..
If it’s not people on phones, it’s them meddling with the screens……
The big difference between
The big difference between physical controls in a car and touch-screens, is that pohysical controls are always in the same place and so with familiarity can be used without averting attention from the road.
Touch-screens with multiple menus etc. require the eyes to be focusing on the screen to be sure what menu you are in and whereabouts on the screen you should be touching to, say, adjust the heating by a couple of degrees.
Vehicles do not need this amount of complexity built-in and if using a hand-held phone is deemed to be a dsitraction, I cannot for the life of me see why touch-screens in cars are any different?
I like my tech, from my bike
I like my tech, from my bike computer, my sports watch, bluetooth earbuds, smartphone and chromebook.
But my car sterio is basic, deliberatly so. I have phsical button and dials that I can opperate without taking my eyes from the road. I have bluetooth added so that I can connect my phone and play music. But I pick a playlist or station and then put the phone in a pocket and live with my choice. I won’t faff about with the phone or a distracting multi media center while driving.
How the hell are they allowed to build these distractions into a car and pass safety stadards?
Wasn’t that dashboard in an
Wasn’t that dashboard in an episode of Star Trek…?
“Make it so….”
“Make it so….”
I’m baffled as to what on
I’m baffled as to what on earth people want to do in cars. The climate control is set to 22c or whatever and looks after itself. The only thing I can imagine wanting to do is change radio station or playlist.
Surely passengers could download an app which could control the functions of a modern car that they need.
Another reason why
Another reason why touchscreens are a bad idea is that they’re almost impossible to use for the visually impaired. At least with ordinary car controls, they can include braille on them.
hawkinspeter wrote:
where’s my glasses
where’s my glasses
I need them to read that screen.
This is a complete disaster for cyclists.
My boss bought a new Range
My boss bought a new Range Rover Vogue a couple of years ago, he sold it soon afterwards. Everything was touchscreen, it was a nightmare to operate controls when driving. Even the heating system and heated seats were operated via the touchscreen. It had a wobble when he left London and put the heated seats on full blast. He had to drive all the way home to Lancashire with his bum on fire. Why this is better than a simple switch is beyond me.
It’s better for the
It’s better for the manufacturers – touch screens are far more flexible than having lots of switches. It’s also software updateable (should the need arise).
But yeah not better for drivers, especially if settings aren’t on the main screen and you need to go into menus – at that point you may as well just be texting on your phone.
I guess voice control would help significantly but every implementation of that so far just seems a way to infuriate the driver rather than make the controls more accessible.
fuzzywuzzy wrote:
“I’m sorry but the software in your motor car will not be supported after July 2025 – please upgrade to the new model of Mercedes”
I suggest that all those on
I suggest that all those on this thread go look up actual police stats for causes of accidents. These would tell you that distracted drivers (by phones, anything in the car) are responsible for about 1% of fatal accidents.
“Looked didn’t see” and “failed to predict the path of another vehicle” are the most common.
Yeah, because everyone
Yeah, because everyone actually with head in phone / touchscreen / info-in-car-multiplex-cinema is 110% upfront with the police after the collision, so those numbers are terrifically reliable.
so those numbers are
so those numbers are terrifically reliable
An insightful comment, particularly in relation to these surveys, figures etc. quoted by various dodgy geezers on here. If offenders can get away with lying, they will try- and you can get away with anything with police who accept as vindication ‘I didn’t see him’, ‘I didn’t mean to do it’, ‘it was only a momentary loss of concentration’, ‘cyclists must move out of my way and if they don’t I’m entitled to cross unbroken white lines anywhere’…(and I’m proud to say Lancashire Constabulary thought of this first, unless any of you have evidence that they were forestalled) ‘we must have confirmatory video from the offending vehicle’.
I think you’ll find it is
I think you’ll find it is “
Lookeddidn’t see” and “failed to predict the path of another vehiclecame out of knowhere” that are the most commonly cited. But that’s just semantics.Menu | Electrical | Lighting
Menu | Electrical | Lighting | Exterior | Indicators | Right | Activate | Until turn completed.
Haha, just kidding, Mercedes drivers won’t even notice the stalk has been removed!
andystow wrote:
Don’t forget the:
Menu | Exterior | Bodywork | Front | Wing | Left | Mirror | Adjust angle
I recall (and it wasn’t that
I recall (and it wasn’t that long ago) that SAAB (oh, maybe it was a while ago then!) had a function on their cars (a good old-fashioned switch) that turned all the instrument lights at night, apart from the speedo. This was added on the grounds of safety. We can learn a lot from history.
It’s true, they did, and very
It’s true, they did, and very useful it was too.