in a world of distracted drivers, I cannot believe this is a thing:
12-28-16, 09:34 AM
#1
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
in a world of distracted drivers, I cannot believe this is a thing:
12-28-16, 12:11 PM
#4
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
12-28-16, 12:45 PM
#7
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
that makes it better how? just what the world needs a dumbass teenager with a laptop in their face posting on social media while putting on makeup and eating a burger all while attempting to weave in and out of traffic
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12-28-16, 12:55 PM
#9
Lexus Test Driver
after a statement usually indicates sarcasm or some type of joke. 
12-28-16, 03:17 PM
#10
I even get scared when I see these petite women driving excursions while putting on their make up.
I was joking in response to tex2670 response about recouping his cost since the beater is not worth that much
And what grown man would want that steering wheel cover
12-28-16, 06:28 PM
#13
Lexus Champion
In all seriousness, I feel like I'm in "defensive mode" all the time now while driving. I stopped commuting 10 years ago and work from home, but 10 years ago commuting wasn't as bad because everyone wasn't trying to send that damn last text. I love driving, but it is just becoming a pain these days because I'm constantly dodging distracted drivers cutting into my lane, poking along while reading texts, cutting over 3 lanes because they missed their turnoff, and... not that rare anymore... cutting across an oncoming lane and almost hitting me head on.
The big phone companies and the automakers know how to disable features based on car speed, but they won't do it because it is a cash cow for them. But then, it makes my insurance premiums go up because I have to cover those other drivers' distracted asses. The companies offering these car desk tops should be shut down.
Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.
The big phone companies and the automakers know how to disable features based on car speed, but they won't do it because it is a cash cow for them. But then, it makes my insurance premiums go up because I have to cover those other drivers' distracted asses. The companies offering these car desk tops should be shut down.
Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.
12-29-16, 06:17 PM
#14
Out of Warranty
It's no worse than the "Jotto Desk" I installed in my '00 RX300. It would carry a laptop that ran my Delorme Street Atlas navigation software, piloting me over 6,500 miles from Texas through the Rockies, Pacific Northwest, Great Basin, and back over the Rockies before returning home. This was long before Garmin and Tom-Tom offered palm-size GPS devices - and certainly before such capabilities existed for a smartphone.
The advantage to using the laptop (and serial port-connected antenna I tucked into the moonroof shade) was that it offered not only outstanding driving directions, but did so on the 14" screen of my laptop that gave me wide coverage of the territory I was passing through. One mouse (touchpad) click would turn on the "radar" function that would show me what POI's were available within a one, five, or ten miles of my position. Another advantage was that I could quickly shift my route between shortest, quickest, or most scenic, on the fly. Being able to unstrap the laptop from the desk and take it into my hotel room at night let me use a whole suite of trip-planning functions to set my route for the following day.
Like today's compact GPS systems it would allow me to explore the backroads of America without concern for finding my way to my intended destination - even if it would require a few extra hours. During my exploring I always had the option to go back to "fastest route" if I was running late. If weather blocked my path, or forest fires were burning ahead of my route (they were), I could link to the internet and get timely traffic information too. Of course that's all available in your smartphone today, but nearly 17 years ago it was a revelation for long-distance touring. I still miss that big screen, though.
The advantage to using the laptop (and serial port-connected antenna I tucked into the moonroof shade) was that it offered not only outstanding driving directions, but did so on the 14" screen of my laptop that gave me wide coverage of the territory I was passing through. One mouse (touchpad) click would turn on the "radar" function that would show me what POI's were available within a one, five, or ten miles of my position. Another advantage was that I could quickly shift my route between shortest, quickest, or most scenic, on the fly. Being able to unstrap the laptop from the desk and take it into my hotel room at night let me use a whole suite of trip-planning functions to set my route for the following day.
Like today's compact GPS systems it would allow me to explore the backroads of America without concern for finding my way to my intended destination - even if it would require a few extra hours. During my exploring I always had the option to go back to "fastest route" if I was running late. If weather blocked my path, or forest fires were burning ahead of my route (they were), I could link to the internet and get timely traffic information too. Of course that's all available in your smartphone today, but nearly 17 years ago it was a revelation for long-distance touring. I still miss that big screen, though.
12-29-16, 06:32 PM
#15
You know I would like to blame technology for the distracted drivers. The reality is I saw plenty of it before cell phones tablets and so on. People with novels in the center of the steering wheel. Maps unfolded blocking most of their view, then trying to fold it back up. People put on makeup, shaving , brushing teeth. The same people will find something else to distract them from what should be there full focus driving.