Men Free Blog

Honda’s launching the next step in navigation system evolution that will automatically warn drivers to be on guard when traveling through areas of high crime. The system is launching in Japan on Tuesday, but we haven’t heard of any plans to bring it to the United States. It’s probably for the best, as there’d be wide swaths of the country that this navi would recommend you avoid. Places like Washington DC, where crime is apparently legal and perpetrated by criminals with offices and staffs. Detroit might be marked with an avoidance warning too, but that’s more likely due to Honda wanting to avoid a Jets-Sharks danceoff.

Honda’s warning system uses historical data from the Japanese police to pinpoint areas where vehicle damage or theft has happened in the past. Areas then receive ratings based on the level of danger they pose to automobiles just passing through. We guess it could be useful for people who don’t take notice of their surroundings when behind the wheel, but some of us may lump it in with other “safety” annoyances like self-locking doors.
[Source: AFP]

The latest gizmo from Japan’s Takata will tell you where to go, but not like those verbally abusive digital keychains from the ’90s. The Takata CSW steering wheel is designed to interface with sensors in your vehicle and display different messages on an LCD screen in the 12 o’clock position. There are already lights and sirens to let you know if your door is ajar or the washer fluid is low, but the CSW wheel’s best trick is that it will talk to the Navigon 7100 navigation system, should you have one. It’s an interesting cross-brand lashup that is pushing the envelope of aftermarket integration.

The screen in the wheel works in conjunction with the larger screen in the navigation unit to display instructions, though the improvement over just the Navigon would likely be sufficient. Both the wheel and the Navi can reportedly poll vehicle sensors, though we’re not sure exactly how, so the systems would be more aware of what the driver is doing beyond merely position data. Both companies hope the wheel will reduce driver distraction, though we’re not convinced that looking down to the wheel rim is any safer or more convenient than the slight gaze diversion to the customary upper center of the dashboard. We don’t know of any manufacturer plans to OEM-issue these units, but the effort could portend a future convergence in the gadget galaxy.

[Source: Navigadget via Kicking Tires; Photo: SoundDomain]

As of today, we’re taking bets to see how long it will take before people realize that “GPS” does not stand for “Auto Pilot.” The latest “But the GPS told me to…” story is brought to you by a charter bus driver in Seattle. Piloting a coach through the Washington Arboretum — as the GPS instructed him — the driver ignored, or didn’t see, or didn’t believe (take your pick) the flashing lights and sign warning him that his 11-foot-high bus was too tall for the looming 9-foot concrete overpass.

You can see how the story ends. The overpass ended up with some superficial damage, the coach got a removable top, and the girls softball team inside received some minor injuries. Luckily, the 60-inch sewage pipe inside the overpass wasn’t ruptured. The driver was ticketed for $154. And in response to the charter company executive who remarked, “We just thought it would be a safe route because, why else would they have a selection for a bus?”, a Garmin spokesman responded “Stoplights aren’t in our databases, either, but you’re still expected to stop for stoplights.”

[Source: Seattle Pi]