Distracted Driving: Android Auto / Apple Car Play

[IamVAguy]

I haven’t purchased the upgrade since I don’t listen to streaming music in my car and would only use it for maps. Also, it appears there’s lots of bugs in Android auto, perhaps because of the many phones running different android versions. And now there’s this...

Interesting article https://www.carscoops.com/2020/03/s...reaction-times-more-than-cannabis-or-alcohol/

Thoughts?

 

[Bosetsu]

It's all a matter of people being senseless. Any automation will make people either lazy, distracted, or both. That's why I despise the touch screens on other cars I've driven. They promote taking your eyes off the road and reaching for the screen. Worst part is that there are people that think the screen makes things "safer". I much prefer Mazda's use of a knob since I can literally use it without or just barely looking at the screen.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

Moving things to a screen--especially juxtaposed against all the nanny stuff--makes zero sense to me. This is a statement about screens in general, even when controlled by knobs & buttons. Touch screens certainly are worse.

I still occasionally reach for where the radio preset button should be (without taking my eyes off of the road) to get the station I want. Sadly, the fixed buttons are no longer there. I have to look at a screen just to change the radio station.

I know I can scroll through the Favorites one by one via the steering wheel buttons, but I still gotta look at the screen to see when I've arrived at my station. Same goes for the Command Knob and the Favorites.

At least Voice Recognition got better when I had my software upgraded, but you still have to recall station names/numbers.

 

[velocityc6]

From various reviews I've read, Mazda porposly laid out the screen/controls to reduce driver distraction as much as possible. For what it's worth you can rest assured Mazdas approach is better then other car manufacturers.
As previous poster mentioned, using VR is a great way to avoid evening needing to glance at the infotainment but there is a learning curve to familiarize oneself with all options.

 

[Avoidin Deer]

From various reviews I've read, Mazda porposly laid out the screen/controls to reduce driver distraction as much as possible. For what it's worth you can rest assured Mazdas approach is better then other car manufacturers.
As previous poster mentioned, using VR is a great way to avoid evening needing to glance at the infotainment but there is a learning curve to familiarize oneself with all options.

I read that Mazda intentionally located the infotainment screen as an outcropping on top of the dash rather than embedded in the dash so as to help keep our eyes somewhat forward-focused on the road.

Regarding Voice Recognition, I'm going from moderately annoyed to kinda enraged that Mazda does not publish a comprehensive list of available commands. I do the in-car tutorial, and when the voice tells me "You can say things like..." I want to smack it. Sure, I can "Say things like..." but specifically what features can I control by voice and what commands do I use to do so????

I paid for this functionality and shall never know exactly what can be done with it or how to do it.