Drivers will switch from using distracting devices built into car dashboards to using even more distracting handheld devices unless the government addresses both issues at the same time, automakers warned Monday.
Voluntary guidelines proposed last month by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration call for automakers to include technology in cars that automatically disables built-in phone calling, texting, emailing, Web-surfing and other distracting devices unless the car is parked. GPS navigation systems would still work, but drivers would only be able to enter addresses when the vehicle is stationary.
The proposal is the first of three sets of guidelines aimed at driver distractions that the agency is working on. A second proposal on technologies that would limit drivers' use of handheld devices while the car is in motion is tentatively scheduled to be unveiled next year. The third proposal — guidelines on how automakers can use voice activation to reduce the number of times drivers need to press buttons or touch screens — is expected a year after that.
STAFFORD — Two men were arrested Monday for the illegal sale of pig iron, according to the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office.
William Williams III, 24, of 141 MacGregor Road in Stafford and Timothy Hackett, 37, of 72 Red Oak Lane in Hague were charged with one count each of possession of pig iron, a class six felony.
An undercover detective from Stafford County sold pig iron to Williams and Hackett at Northern Virginia Metal Recyclers at 32 Eskimo Hill Road, police said. Following the sale, two Stafford detectives arrested them.
Pig iron is a type of metal used on railroad tracks. All recycler businesses in the State of Virginia are aware of the law that prohibits the sale, purchase or possession of pig iron, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office.
“With the downturn in the economy we have noticed an increase in the selling and buying of illegal metals,” said Stafford Sheriff Charles Jett. “Metal recycling businesses have a responsibility to abide by the law and it is an expectation that they do so.”
Magellan GPS Navigation Premium Car Kit Pre-Release In-Car / On-Road Review (iPhone or iPod Touch)
Check out this pre-release in-car / on-road review of the Magellan Premium Car Kit for iPhone 3G/3GS or iPod Touch 2G's. This kit is scheduled ...
Any recommendation for Automobile GPS system.?
Nov 29, 2006 by I C | Posted in Other - Cars & Transportation
I am thinking about getting automobile GPS system. This is for a professional person to visit a patient home (more than 3 homes a day). Voice guidance would be nice. I am not looking for the top of the line one. I am looking for a reasonable one to get a direction from one point to another.
Your recommendation by experience would be helpful and appreciated.
I just got a Garmin - the smallest one they have. Around $250.00 Wayyyyy worth it. You can check Overstock.com and/or e-bay and other retailers.
It speaks, and provides turn-by-turn directions. You can also view maps without going through the whole navigation process. You can save your favorite destinations. Search by area, food, hotel, gas, banks, etc.
VERY COOL! I'm now addicted.
Have fun. Good luck in your travels.
♥Saffire♥ | Nov 29, 2006
Only the top of the line have voice guidance. The Garmin C550 is the best one and well worth the price.
There is a significant difference in the quality of the different priced units. Higher quality means more reliable, more accurate, easier to use and more convenient.
A top of the line unit like the C550 is almost always accurate, very reliable, easy to use and the voice prompting is FAR more convenient than trying to visually read a unit every few seconds. If you are going to be using a unit like this so much, you definitely WANT top of the line. Trust me on this. If you go el cheapo, you will wish you had sprung for the delux model.
Another plus of a unit like the C550. If you live in a major metropolitan area, you can sign up for a service that broadcasts traffic info to your Garmin via FM. The unit incorporates this info and warns you of traffic. It even goes so far as to plot various routes and warn you when there is a much better route to your destination because of a traffic tie up.
Panacea | Nov 29, 2006
My dad just bought a Garmin GPS system for his truck. Garmin is like the best brand and they are not that expensive. It is really nice easy to use and clear.
Jon | Nov 29, 2006
I've got Tomtom and I'd recomend Garmin. I had Garmin before and their routing, available data (speed, ETA, course, ...) and ETA calculations are all much better.
Tomtom seem to have only three classes of road, major, good and not so good. Their speed estimates are based on something like 60, 45, 30. So if you are on a rural road which isn't an interstate or divided highway, like US6 through Nevada, then they estimate based on a 30mph average, so they tell you you will get there in 8 hours and you make it in 3.5. It also leads to some very very bad route calculations, they can't tell the difference between a paved state road in good condition and a right of way that isn't maintained in winter, so driving from south of Ruby Lake NV to Fallon NV they routed me down the Pony Express trail of 1861-1861 which was barely wider than the Nissan Murano I was driving.
Tomtom also have a terrible POI list and a poor method of selecting POIs, in Death Valley they told me the nearest gas station was 110 miles behind me on US395 in California when it was actually 20 miles ahead of me on US95 in Nevada. It didn't list most gas stations at all, just a few third rate ones, companies you never heard of. To find out where a POI is, relative to you, you have to select it, if it's the wrong one you have to go through the whole process again.
Tomtom also autozoom to show you only the next half mile or so of road, this makes maintaining situational awareness almost impossible and makes it harder to detect when they are telling you to do something very stupid, like following a 'major' road that doubles the length of your journey.
Tomtom has a pretty interface and their voice guidance is much better than the old Magelan units that Hertz use for their Neverlost service.
My old Garmin GPSV had better POIs, better routing and vastly better estimates. Unfortunately it was slow and hard to use. I wish Garmin would release their software for PDAs.
Chris H | Nov 29, 2006
Automobile GPS navigation systems, which are best and most affordable?
Dec 22, 2008 by bgh | Posted in Other - Cars & Transportation
If you have had experience with any Mobile Gps systems, Which has the best price rating and overalrating for a truck driver who will travel entire usa
See at this page maybe can help you.
WHICH GPS HAS ROUTES FOR TRUCKS OR COMMERCIAL VEHICLES:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?i e=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ama zon.com%2Fgp%2Ftagging%2Ftag%2Fgps%2Ffor um%3Fie%3DUTF8%26cdForum%3DFx1ZP396JKI1B Q4%26ref%255F%3Dcm%255Fcd%255Fdp%255Frt% 255Ftft%255Ftp%26cdThread%3DTx2AJQHNR2BN 507&tag=garmin.gps.navigator.cheap-2 0&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&cre ative=390957
K. Rankin says:
I have a garmin ique m4 which is a discontinued model, and it has an option to route for driving a truck. I used to drive a box truck for work in the baltimore/D.C. area and the truck route did steer me away from the roads commercial vehicles could not travel on. There are times when it will tell you to get on a road you shouldn't drive on, but that was extremely rare. I would suggest any of the garmin C series, the C530 is probably the cheapest one i've seen on amazon now at just under $200. I like the truck routing feature, and I would use it more than the car routing feature because it would take you on the bigger/wider roads which are easier to navigate on to begin with. I'm only guessing but it looks like the nuvi series uses the same user interface/software as the C series so it may have truck routing also.
I've got a Insignia Internet Connected model 20 with bluetooth on the way. It is a Best Buy only brand...and the only Internet connected GPS on the market right now. It originally sold for $599, but Best Buy is now selling it for $150.
I read a ton of reviews on it, and the general concensus was that at $599 it was way over priced.... but $150 is much better.
The pros of the device was obviously the Internet connection that alows you to google search for locations and automatically have google download the information to the device, if you have a bluetooth phone, it will also alow you to call the location handsfree through the GPS... as well, it will allow you to make and recieve phone calls through your phone on the GPS... this is one of the most affordable bluetooth GPS on the market. The Internet cononection also allows you get get up to the minute gas prices from gasbuddy.com and realtime traffic updates from 52 American cities.
The cons of the device are that the interface aren't as good compareably priced models. They aren't as "cartoony" and sharp. There have also been some complaints that the touch screen sometimes requires you to tap the screen twice.
The device is still very new on the market, just released the end of October, but being priced at $150 puts it in a great price range. If you are looking for the best graphics on the market with the most features, then this isn't for you... But if you are willing to sacrafice awesome graphics, and a ton of features... for functional graphics with only a couple very usefull features, then this is the GPS for you. Being a truck driver I'm sure the realtime gas prices and traffic conditioins, along with the ability to google search something you should really consider.
boomn4x4 | Dec 22, 2008
GPS navigation system......which one to buy?
Jul 17, 2008 by mmrn | Posted in Car Audio
I have narrowed it down to the Garmin or TomTom, unless someone suggests one that out performs these brands. I want to use it in my automobile, only in the U.S. and would like text to speech. I don't want to spend more that $300 and would like some advise from someone who has some experience with them or sells them. Thanks
If you want cheap, I would suggest the Garmin Nuvi 200, it is currently $150 at best buy and comes with a free case. This sale runs till July 26th 2008.
The first link is a $50 coupon off any Garmin at Best Buy, brings it down to $100.
The second link is for best buy, check to make sure your local store has the Nuvi 200 in stock, as many stores are already out.
If you want more features than just navigation and a lot of points of interest, look at the Garmin C580. It has bluetooth for answering/placing phone calls while you drive, Text to Speech (can say the street names), and MSN direct which provides traffic updates (1 year included, $49 a month afterwords) It is 189.99 w/ free shipping at amazon, which is the 3rd link.
KLAVEN_777 | Jul 21, 2008
They cost $100 nowadays. Don't pay over a $100 bucks since all of them will get cheaper in no time. They already go for $100 nowadays. The Garmin Nuvi 200 from BestBuy was 100 2 weeks ago.
Wait for the 4.3" GPS Systems to go down in price "eventually in a couple of months they will" Reading the directions off of the 3.5" screens most GPS systems use is kind of difficult sometimes.
Freaky Deaky | Jul 17, 2008
make sure you buy a good one, make it over $175 or else you will get a cheap one that doesnt preform very well. i prefer a Tomtom. they are more easy to manage and control.
quintin | Jul 17, 2008
I bought the Navigon 2100 at radio shack. It was less then 300. Text to speach is pretty new and I think it's only on the Garmins and Tom Toms. I'm happy with my Navigon though, it gets me there faster then the others and doesn't play around although I have to type the address.
zipperz41 | Jul 17, 2008
We got a Garmin Nuvi 350 for $200 on Amazon. It's awesome! We've borrowed a TomTom before too, and it was fine, but our relatives with a Garmin would always get a better/faster route.
Princeza | Jul 17, 2008
i have a TomTom XL One.. it's AMAZING. it was around $300, maybe a little more. i subscribed to live traffic and now i always beat it.
julie_mustang | Jul 17, 2008
GPS question?
May 29, 2007 by Jay | Posted in Commuting
I need to find a GPS system that is intended for automobiles that:
#1 - Has audible directions (including street names)
#2 - Has bluetooth
#3 - Is compatible with a Cingular 8125 (aka HTC Wizard)
#4 - Is able to get Phone Book and Contacts information from the cell phone
#5 - Easily moved from vehicle to vehicle (in other words, has a suction cup mount or something of that nature)
Does anyone know what GPS system would be able to do all that? I have been looking at the Garmin Nuvi 360 but I'm not sure if it is able to get contact information from the phone. I know that it has everything else that I require but I'm just not sure about that.
Garmins have lots of features, not sure about the phone book retrieval feature however, try looking on their website for that specific feature
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