Is this article a bold-faced lie?

[Jack6591]

Is Tesla Motors Inc. on the NHTSA's Hot Seat ... Again? (TSLA)


Eventually the NHTSA will rule on the Tesla fire investigation. I am convinced that reason and common sense will find the Model S an inherently safe car. More than that, an safety innovation evolution that ought to be required of all automobiles.

I believe the above article is fear based. Time will tell, soon.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Aw, crap. It's Katie Spence: she's a click-baiter. Her last piece was full of nonsense as well, with cherry-picked and misleading references that commenters kindly ripped apart.

 

[MarkR]

I think that the truth is that the 17" screen IS initially distracting. Once drivers have some experience with the interface, I think that it is less distracting because the controls are so very intuitive.

 

[Doug_G]

I disagree; I have never found it to be a distraction. Quite the opposite. Trying to use a tiny screen with confusing menus and funky buttons is a HUGE and dangerous distraction. Looking at you, every other in-car screen ever built.

 

[carrerascott]

Is this what caused the drop today from $177 to $168? Ridiculous. The touchscreen is so much better than a hundred buttons all over the dashboard like every other car.

 

[MarkR]

I disagree; I have never found it to be a distraction. Quite the opposite. Trying to use a tiny screen with confusing menus and funky buttons is a HUGE and dangerous distraction. Looking at you, every other in-car screen ever built.

Ca'mon Doug, the 17" screen is an attention getter. We have near universal agreement on that. I agree that it is safer in the long run, but didn't you initially spend a bit of extra time trying to figure out how all of the features worked (even though the features are intuitive)? I also initially found the brightness of the screen was a bit distracting at night, but have since adjusted the brightness control way down.

The idea that the NHTSA will put Tesla on the "hot seat" over the screen is goofy.

 

[Doug_G]

Ca'mon Doug, the 17" screen is an attention getter. We have near universal agreement on that.

Yes, for passengers who have never been in the car before.

I agree that it is safer in the long run, but didn't you initially spend a bit of extra time trying to figure out how all of the features worked (even though the features are intuitive)?

Yes, like everyone else, when I got it home I spent an hour sitting in the car in my garage, exploring every feature of the screen.

I also initially found the brightness of the screen was a bit distracting at night, but have since adjusted the brightness control way down.

No different from adjusting the dashboard brightness on every other car I've owned.

The idea that the NHTSA will put Tesla on the "hot seat" over the screen is goofy.

Agreed. That's completely invented "news".

 

[Merrill]

Can anyone tell me how many vehicles on the road today have touch screens, how about most all of them. So does this mean the NHTSA will make all of the manufactures disable as well. More media hype!!!

 

[stevezzzz]

I find the touch screen very easy to use and have developed muscle memory that allows me to anchor my hand on the edge of the display and operate some functions without even looking at the screen, and to do some others using only peripheral vision. For me, making the little roller wheels on the steering wheel work are a bigger distraction.

 

[Twiddler]

+1 to the above - it is a distraction until you finish your vehicle orientation, sitting in park. I believe that 90% of people can perform 95% of necessary functions while driving after this orientation with just quick glances at the screen, at most. The remaining 10% that are going to try to surf the web or some other ridiculous feat while driving is the same group of people that will text while driving. If the touch screen is distracting, then possessing a smart phone should be illegal

 

[GlennAlanBerry]

Katie Spence certainly seems to have something against Tesla.

 

[ThosEM]

Real NHTSA investigation or not?

I think you meant "bald-faced lie," but it would only be that if the author fabricated the rumor that the NHTSA is investigating Tesla compliance with their "voluntary guidelines". This is clearly a matter in the purview of the NHTSA, but they weren't overly concerned about it at the time they rated the Model S as the safest car ever tested. Of course we have all been subject to over a decade of FAA prohibition against the use of electronic devices while taking off and landing on flights, with no justification whatever. Though that has been fixed recently, there is a risk of nonsensical action being taken in the future by the NHTSA. There is talk on this forum of allowing the Tesla touch screen bluetooth to display incoming text messages on screen, but texting is becoming unlawful in more and more states, so there are real issues lurking there.

I will say that the locking of navigation system screens in the Lexus RX400h we owned was the most annoyingly "nanny-state" feature I have ever encountered in a car. Worse, one had to manually switch "regions" when traveling into unfamiliar territory. Even worse (!), an attempt to enter an address in the wrong region would result in an error message that "the address does not exist!" It was almost enough to make one resort to a traditional paper roadmap, if it weren't that a smart phone on a stalk can do the same job, and better, without the foolishness. Given that, it seems useless to attempt to regulate navigation activities on the part of either a driver or a co-driver, but who knows how the regulators will see it?

Is Tesla Motors Inc. on the NHTSA's Hot Seat ... Again? (TSLA)

Eventually the NHTSA will rule on the Tesla fire investigation. I am convinced that reason and common sense will find the Model S an inherently safe car. More than that, an safety innovation evolution that ought to be required of all automobiles.

I believe the above article is fear based. Time will tell, soon.

 

[Merrill]

Let's lock all smart phones when entering your vehicle, how many time do you see someone driving out of their lane or going to slow and still sitting at a red light when it goes to green because they are on their phone. It is illegal but people still do it.

 

[ToddRLockwood]

As a practical matter, the distraction factor (if it even exists) would be very hard to quantify. Personally, I find Tesla's driver settings interface to be a lot less cumbersome than the menu-driven-knob approach used by the luxury imports. Just because the controls appear on a screen does not make them more distracting. Sure, using the web browser while driving could pose a risk, but what's to keep someone from doing the same thing with their tablet? Personal responsibility has to play a role here.

- - - Updated - - -

Let's lock all smart phones when entering your vehicle, how many time do you see someone driving out of their lane or going to slow and still sitting at a red light when it goes to green because they are on their phone. It is illegal but people still do it.

I would love to see some version of that. What's preventing it is the problem of passengers' phones.

 

[Doug_G]

The web browser is so difficult to use when stationary that I'm not even the slightest bit tempted to try it while driving.

 

[jerry33]

I haven't found the screen to be distracting at all. All the features you need to use while driving are on the steering wheel controls. The only thing you really ever look at regularly on the 17" display while driving the the camera to see your blind spots.

The only time I use the web browser is when I show it to people. It's permanently on the Peacemaker package. That always gets a rise out of folks.

 

[dave]

Yup, the browser is horrible - I never use it.

I do find the radio controls somewhat distracting though. I have to find the Media button, then hit a couple other buttons to get to my Slacker playlist or radio station. A few more steps, and requires more attention than a traditional car where your favorite stations are mapped to a hard button that's easy to find.

I wouldn't mind a "always visible" favorite station overlay somewhere on the screen. Perhaps as an option?

 

[GDH]

I think that the truth is that the 17" screen IS initially distracting. Once drivers have some experience with the interface, I think that it is less distracting because the controls are so very intuitive.

I would agree with that. The first couple of days of ownership I the screen was very distracting now I hardly notice it.

- - - Updated - - -

Yup, the browser is horrible - I never use it. I do find the radio controls somewhat distracting though.

Agree with both.

 

[mknox]

I will say that there are times when I have been tempted to check my e-mail (Gmail) or the weather forecast using the browser while driving and have done so on occasion. Each time I do this I realize what a bad idea it is, but will eventually end up doing it again. I have often wondered how long it will be before certain functions get locked down when the car is underway. I'm not talking about the normal car controls on the 17"... they are very easy and intuitive to use.

 

[stevezzzz]

The web browser is so difficult to use when stationary that I'm not even the slightest bit tempted to try it while driving.

^This!