Feb 8, 2010

Help in Avoiding Distraction

Driving a vehicle is a full-time job that requires our complete attention. But at times, our attention needs to be raised to an even higher level, like when approaching intersections, school zones and railroad crossings.

Now there is a new mobile application that can help: Global Mobile Alert Activate-It (GMA) claims to be the world’s first location-based service platform that alerts drivers upon approaching these higher-danger areas. The GMA application provides audible alerts when a moving vehicle approaches an intersection or other geographically coded area too fast.

“I have investigated far too many accidents where vehicle operators were distracted or simply not paying attention,” said Peter Goetz, former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board. “The tragic toll of these kinds of human performance accidents is growing both in the public sector and for individuals. GMA provides a real-time solution by alerting operators to potentially dangerous situations in time to make a difference.”

When a GMA-enabled vehicle is approaching one of these areas, an alert sounds off if the vehicle is moving faster than a predetermined speed. The system uses GPS and wireless technologies to compare the vehicle’s location and speed to geo-coded points of reference, such as intersections, railroad crossings and school zones. The product offers a practical solution to distracted drivers, and it may help reduce the effects of driver distraction in vehicles enabled with navigation and embedded telematics equipment.

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Floor Mat Alert

Car mat fit, backing and retention systems are all vital to safe driving

You don’t want to be a door mat or a floor mat, but apparently even floor mats have their day.  In fact, car floor mats have been in the news recently as a potential driving hazard. It is not that floor mats are inherently unsafe, but safety experts agree that it is important that they fit the vehicle properly so they won’t interfere with pedal functions.

Three primary features of car floor mats determine the degree of safety: fit, backing and the retention system. While floor mats in the passenger area footwell are not nearly as crucial to safety, those in the driver’s side area are critical. GGBailey, a leading producer of luxury floor mats offers these safety tips to drivers:

1. Prevent floor mats from interfering with the accelerator and brake pedal
Custom fitted floor mats will prevent mat movement, and that is vitally important on the driver’s side of a car. If a mat moves, it can interfere with the operation of the vehicle’s brake and accelerator pedal, and if a mat is not positioned correctly, often because of poor fit, it can create interference between the brake and/or accelerator as well. So-called “universal” and semicustom fit mats have a tendency to move, potentially creating a dangerous situation. Custom-fit floor mats will reduce floor-mat movement.

2. Prevent shifting of a floor mat with backing that suits your car’s interior
Each car has its own interior carpet style. Some examples include tufted, nonwoven or needle punch carpets. There are also different pile heights, weights and densities and many backings on auto mats as well. This presents a challenge in the aftermarket, which includes every type of vehicle and different carpets. Choose a mat with a backing compatible with your car’s carpeting.  If you’re unsure, consult a professional.

3. Choose a retention system that will hold mats in place
Even a custom-fit mat with an engineered backing requires a good retention system. Properly installed retention systems prevent mats from shifting while driving. In many of today’s automobiles a permanent manufacturer-installed post in the floor is designed to control mat movement.  If you install new or replacement mats, they should have grommets that fit over those posts. 

Connectivity by Voice

You want to stay connected but you shouldn’t be distracted

Connectivity is great as long as it doesn’t interfere with your key task behind the wheel – driving your car safely.  One way to limit distraction is via voice commands, and now drivers can take advantage of today’s most popular connected services with simple, easy voice commands based on the popular Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech-recognition technology. The system offers one-button, seamless access to a variety of on-board and connected functions via a single, consistent voice user interface that takes advantage of advancements in natural language understanding and mobile speech.

“The communication-based applications that use the Internet are currently the most useful for car use,” said Egil Juliussen, PhD., principal analyst and fellow, iSuppli. “This is due to the user interface need for communication applications, which can be served by speech recognition and text-to-speech.”

The Nuance system offers what the company claims is a safer connected-car experience through interaction with online services using remote speech applications. It allows drivers to access dynamic real-time information and services including SMS text messaging and email capabilities, which enables drivers to simply speak and send messages while keeping their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.  It also allows interaction with social networks such as Twitter and Facebook and enables drivers to access a wide variety of news, weather and information services, including traffic updates, the latest sports scores, stock prices, movie theater locations and film listings.  Additionally, just by asking you can obtain dining options in your area or point of destination plus price comparisons for hotels and fuel. The system also allows drivers to use speech for controlling in-vehicle systems, including mobile phones, entertainment systems and navigation devices.  So far no voice control for our kids, though.

California Launches Electric Vehicle Trial

Two-year, 50-vehicle demonstration project will examine plug-ins’ future

How do plug-in hybrids do in the real world?  The state of California’s Department of General Services (DGS) intends to find out. With funding from the California Energy Commission (CEC) and taxpayers like Driving Today’s managing editor, DGS will launch a two-year plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) demonstration project.

Deploying 50 converted Toyota Priuses, California’s DGS will analyze potential efficiencies gained through the use of gasoline-electric vehicles and evaluate their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Gaining a deeper understanding of PHEV performance across a wide range of terrain, climate and drivers is of particular interest. The Priuses will be deployed throughout California, from Sacramento to San Diego, as state fleet vehicles.  GridPoint data logging solution will be used to gather the data. Performance reports will enable analysis of fuel economy, carbon emissions, travel distance, charging location, charging duration and more. Individual vehicle reports and fleet comparisons will allow the DGS staff to quickly and easily monitor vehicle activity across the state, so drivers should watch where they park.

“With the rich information gathered during this trial, DGS will be well positioned to make solid recommendations for reducing greenhouse emissions and reliance on petroleum-based fuels across the state’s fleet of more than 50,000 vehicles,” said Kathy Hicks, chief of the Office of Fleet and Asset Management for the California DGS. “The information captured with GridPoint’s data logging solution will be of tremendous help to California as it works to meet its emissions and fossil fuels reduction goals.”

Seeing the Big Picture EV-wise

Electric cars are one thing; electric vehicles are something much more

The burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) industry cannot be understood by simply looking at cars. The complete market is, and will remain, about double the market for cars, according to a new report from market research firm IDTechEx. The EV leaders such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan make electric vehicles for many applications, and many of them also control the manufacture of the component that most affects price and performance - the battery. For example, Nissan has a major program to put next-generation lithium batteries from its battery joint venture into its forklifts as well as its cars. Toyota makes heavy and light industrial EVs from forklifts to buses and mobility for the disabled, not just electric cars, and the knowledge in these different divisions is shared between them all. Much is written about hybrid cars but there are substantial sales of hybrid military trucks, buses and even motorcycles now.

A new report on the subject called “Electric Vehicles 2010-2020” offers chapters on Heavy Industrial, Light Industrial and Commercial, Mobility for the Disabled, Two Wheelers, Golf Cars, Cars, Military, Marine and Other vehicles. The study even extends to electric mobile robots, surveillance jellyfish and other Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), bats and electric aircraft. IDTechEx does not make the common mistake of reporting primarily on vehicles from the well known Western and Japanese manufacturers. It asserts 66 percent of the manufacturers of electric vehicles in the world are in China, and over 90 percent of the world's electric vehicles are made in China, mainly for use in China. The Asian country has the largest potential market for electric vehicles, largely because it has a lot of people. It also mines and controls 95 percent of the world’s rare earth reserves used in the hybrid car batteries, motors and other key components of today’s electric vehicles. Of the 420 EV manufacturers covered in this new report, a high proportion are Chinese. (By the way, China is also the largest market in the world for Chinese food.) 

Globally, the company finds that the electric vehicle industry will continue to exhibit strong growth for the next decade, though some sectors were impacted by the global financial meltdown and have yet to fully recover. The 29 million EVs sold in 2010 will rise 69 percent to 49 million in 2020 but the value of the market will grow by far more because larger and more expensive vehicles are now rapidly adopting the technology. Motorcycles, military vehicles, buses and earthmovers are among them. Hybrids will rise from about 50 percent to about 60 percent of the value market through the decade. In 10 years from now, a far higher percentage of the global output of light industrial vehicles, commercial vehicles and cars will be EVs. Next Driving Today News>>