Consumer Confidential: Carmakers’ Focus on Connected Lifestyle May Lead to Distracted Driving
Ford and Fiat Chrysler apparently have concluded that safety takes a back seat to amusement when it comes to pleasing drivers. The two carmakers announced last week amid the hoopla of the CES consumer-electronics show in Las Vegas that state-of-the-art infotainment systems in new vehicles will include both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Ford’s system “allows customers to bring the smartphone technology they’re comfortable with into a...
Speeding Up Deliveries With More Tech
Pittsburgh — Around 8 a.m. at a cavernous warehouse outside Pittsburgh recently, about four dozen delivery drivers for United Parcel Service got their first look at the scheduled drop-offs for the day. Prepping for roughly 9-hour shifts with anywhere from 50 to 150 stops, it could have been — and, until recently, was — a daunting start, as drivers had to calculate how best to juggle the day’s load while negotiating Pittsburgh-area...
Land of Confusion
Washington — Many Americans buying new cars these days are baffled by a torrent of new safety technology. Some features will automatically turn a car back into its lane if it begins to drift, or hit the brakes if sensors detect that it’s about to rear-end someone else. There are lane-change and blind-spot monitors, drowsiness alerts and cars that can park themselves. Technologies once limited to high-end models like adaptive cruise...
‘Spy Car’ is Watching You
Chicago — If, while driving, you were also chowing down food, yakking on your phone or getting distracted by Bella the Labrador retriever, would your insurance company know? A patent issued in August to Allstate mentions using sensors and cameras to record “potential sources of driver distraction within the vehicle (e.g. pets, phone usage, unsecured objects in vehicle).” It also mentions gathering information on the number and types...
Parents Turn to Uber, Others To Ferry Kids
Forget the big yellow bus or even mom’s taxi. This fall, more and more kids will be heading back to school via Uber and other ride-hailing options. From car pools to practices, a growing number of families are relying on the services to schlep kids to and from school, after-school activities and other destinations. Demand is strong enough that several startups have launched, backed by millions in venture capital, specifically to meet...
