My wife was out with a friend one time at some dive bar years ago. Some dude staggered over and his pickup line was: Are those your real teeth?
I still laugh my ass off thinking about it.
1st car for your kid
- Thread starter Devildog01
- Start date
My wife was out with a friend one time at some dive bar years ago. Some dude staggered over and his pickup line was: Are those your real teeth?
I still laugh my ass off thinking about it.
Assuming he was using the logic regarding the pinnacle of breasts (real but look fake, or fake but look real), that was probably a compliment.
agree with the pickup. Mazda B2300 or nissan frontier type. reliable and can only fit two friends in at most. The last thing you want is your kid being stuck driving everyone around.
I dunno...I thought Kenneths point to the contrary was salient.
Someone is gonna be driving everyone around. Do you want it to be your kid, or some other teenage shithead?
That's a great question.
I'd even add to that.
Do you want it to be your kid in whatever tank you bought him/her, or some other teenage shithead in a Honda Civic?
I guess you guys have laws against riding in the back of a truck. Out here they don't. Lunch runs, lake trips, concerts, we all piled into the back of someone's truck and went for a ride. Weekend cruising (before it was outlawed) was in the back of someone's truck with a boom box.
I'm not certain of the laws, but the lack of seat belts makes me think its a no no. plus it rains to much here. I agree I'd rather have my kid driving, but at least the single cab limits the amount of people/distractions that can ride along.
https://newsroom.aaa.com/2015/03/distraction-teen-crashes-even-worse-thought/
I have been in driving simulators where the instructor operator TRIES to distract you and measure how well you respond. It is science and easy to prove that the more distractions you have, the worse you drive.
A solid multimedia receiver will do many things.
You'll get an in-dash GPS, regardless of the car you purchase. This prevents vision obstruction caused by GPS units placed on a dashboard or attached to the windshield. Modern units will speak directions, and many can respond to voice commands. They also disable manual input when the transmission is not in park, discouraging GPS distraction.
Music libraries are commonly kept on phones these days, or some other form of removable media. A well-connected receiver will allow full browsing and voice control of the library and all functions associated with it. This is partially accomplished by allowing the vehicle's microphone and speakers to work with digital assistants, such as Siri and Cortana.
Whatever those two can do, your car can now do.
That includes vocalizing text messages, and allowing verbal responses. When Cortana, as an example, notices a text, she* simply tells me I have a text, and asks if I want to respond or not. If I do, I'll simply say "yeah" and tell her what I want to say. The text is sent flawlessly; every single time.
I too have music on my phone now, though the files are as high a quality as I can reasonably produce. In the Jaguar, I simply press one button, and tell the air what I want done. I can tell the system to play Nightwish, and it will play Nightwish. I can tell it to text someone, and it will text someone.
If I want to place a call, I just tell it I want to call someone. This is all done with a single button. If a text conversation is initiated, no further interaction is required. It's all verbal from there.
Also, the large, easy to read and operate displays allow quick adjustments should any manual interaction be desired. There is a generally a button on large displays that's clear and easy to access for any function. I personally do not use a display in my cars, as I prefer more audiophile-oriented units, but you can be damned sure they are helpful nowadays.
I just used the new Subaru system the other day, actually. It's outstanding. Very safe; and the cars feature all manner of idiot-proofing if you purchase the optional "Eyesight" system.
Now, odds are you aren't going to buy a new car. You'd think that runs you right out of back up cameras, parking sensors, and other idiot-oriented gadgets. This is not so. A quality receiver will allow the fitting of any of these options to any car for a reasonable price.
You can have your kid in a car with a smart-phone pushing all those tiny buttons, or you can have him in a car with only a single button to push; a car that does everything he wants, with no more complication than having a secretary in the back seat adhering to his every command.
Despite the long list of features, the distraction level is quite low.
About the only difference between systems like this and the starship Enterprise is the fact that you don't have to say "computer" before telling it what to do.
Cheers,
Kennith
*That system is very odd. Someone programmed it to react very much like an actual female. Mine once refused to work properly until I apologized to it... I've been polite to the damned phone ever since. So, it's a "she", whether I like it or not.
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And NONE of this shit should be done while driving I don't give a damn how non-distracting it is. Your job as a driver is to drive, period. If/when I have a teen, they'll be getting a flip phone Jitterbug until I say otherwise.
My husband has always said the most dangerous weapon available to almost everyone is a vehicle. I'm glad I learned to drive without a fancy radio or smartphone, it has made me less likely to care about those items and enjoy driving.
Of course, having a baby in the backseat changes everything too. Some kid in a Landcruiser with both earbuds in jamming on his ipod/phone almost rammed me yesterday when we had to stop for a turning car. He swerved almost completely around me to miss. My little girl was asleep in the backseat--I probably would have ripped his head off with my hands if he had hit me!
After seatbelts, rule #1 for any teen driver I know/teach will be to put the phone in the backseat out of reach.
Of course, having a baby in the backseat changes everything too. Some kid in a Landcruiser with both earbuds in jamming on his ipod/phone almost rammed me yesterday when we had to stop for a turning car. He swerved almost completely around me to miss. My little girl was asleep in the backseat--I probably would have ripped his head off with my hands if he had hit me!
After seatbelts, rule #1 for any teen driver I know/teach will be to put the phone in the backseat out of reach.
It's becoming more difficult.
I moved to a smart phone only when I determined that if I didn't, I would not be able to continue my day to day activities with reasonable success.
I avoid most features that many enjoy, but even I receive a number of texts throughout the day that must be answered, as well as e-mails and numerous other forms of contact. This happens throughout the day.
Those who enjoy social features of newer, more technological lifestyles are inundated by various forms of communication constantly. It rarely stops.
I communicate in that manner because at this point I don't have much of a choice in the matter if I mean to remain even remotely relevant in civilization. Kids suffer the same issue to a dramatically greater degree, at a point in their life when such interaction is at its peak.
It may seem stupid, but that's the way the world is now.
You can't really keep them away from a smart phone. If they want one, they can buy one and pay cash to keep it running, assuming they are aware that it can be done. Unless you mean to search them constantly, it may be best to equip them for success.
If I had a teenager, I'd get them the same damned Subaru I'm considering at the moment. Everything is in one place, it's got all manner of driver aids (you can turn them off if you don't like them), and every damned safety feature known to man.
Cheers,
Kennith
Exactly. The driver just drives. My wife is the worst at this. She expects me to drive, but fails at handling nav and any need for amenities. My marine buddy is the best copilot. Anything I need, he's on it. Yeah I'm perfectly capable of grabbing a water, unscrewing the cap, or picking up that toy the kid dropped, but I shouldnt have to when the person next to me has no major responsibility going on. I'd rather keep all my attention on the road.
Thank you.
Very few things must be answered, and nearly nothing - while driving. I am sure you'd agree with that.Kennith said:
Pretty interesting that you mention this. The first time I was part of a driving experiment, the first thing that happened after I got into the simulator and started driving, was that a phone started ringing from the backseat. I ignored it for some minutes, but it became obvious after a few calls that it was not going to stop. I struggled to locate it, while driving, picked it up and it was the instructor that then proceeded to give me driving instructions over the phone.
So, what is my point other than that driving simulators are cool?
Turn the phone OFF, then place it somewhere out of reach. For a teenager, I would recommend the trunk. ;-)
I answer the phone in the car. Distraction? Yep. I do not to have any meaningful conversation while driving, but I do make an exception on open highway where there is no traffic.