Teens Pick Up On Parents’ Distracted Driving, Mirroring Behavior: Study

A new study on distracted driving shows that parents need to focus more on paying attention to their driving, because their teenage passengers are watching closely. Not only that, but the teens surveyed said they were picking up on their parent’s bad habits behind the wheel.

The study, conducted by Liberty Mutual and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions), found an alarming percentage of teens said their parents made poor and risky decisions while driving.

Two-thirds of the teen drivers surveyed (66 percent) said that their parents live by different rules than they expect from their sons and daughters. It is this kind of “Do as I say, not as I do” attitude that is likely contributing to an undermining of the parent-child driving relationship, according to Stephen Wallace, senior advisor for policy, research and education at SADD.

“The best teacher for a teen driver is a good parental role model,” said Wallace. “But parents have to demonstrate good driving behavior from the onset so new drivers understand that safe driving rules apply to everyone equally.”

Distracted driving behavior modeled by parents, picked up by teens
The dangerous driving practices observed by the teens ranged from texting or speeding to driving without a seat belt and even driving under the influence of alcohol or marijuana. Beyond just seeing their parents display such poor judgment, the teens then self-reported doing the same behaviors themselves, once they were behind the wheel.

Driving Behavior	Parental (observed by teens)	Teens (self-reported)
Talking on cell phone	91%	90%
Speeding	88%	94%
Texting	59P	78%
Driving without seat belt	47%	33%
DUI - alcohol	20%	15%
Driving under influence of marijuana	7%	16%

“Your kids are always observing the decisions you make behind the wheel,” said Dave Melton, a driving safety expert with Liberty Mutual and managing director of global safety, adding that “they’ve likely been doing so since they were big enough to see over the dashboard.”

While it’s tempting to think that parents only occasionally glance down to see or respond to an incoming text at a stop light or make a quick call, the reality, according to Melton, is that “kids are seeing that in a different way.”
Just answering the phone once for a few seconds while driving legitimizes the action for children, who will then see it as acceptable behavior.

Speaking up can make a difference
The survey also found that few teens actually speak up and ask their driving parent to stop the distracted behavior. Only 21 percent of teens said they’d asked their parents to cease driving when they’d been drinking. However, a more positive outcome occurred when teens did speak up, with 70 percent saying their parents listened and curtailed their bad driving behavior.

The study comprised four focus groups in Boston and Atlanta early this year, followed by a survey of 1,708 eleventh and twelfth graders across the country.

Source:  The Car Connection

Buying An iPhone 5? Prepare For Some Changes On The Road

Yesterday, Apple unveiled one of the worst-kept secrets in the tech world: the all-new iPhone 5. Rumors about the device and leaked photos of its casing have been flooding the internet for months, and now most, if not all of them, have been confirmed.

But apart from the iPhone 5's longer -- and some would say, less elegant -- silhouette, what changes will it bring? There are at least five major changes that drivers should expect.

Goodbye, Google Maps

As we reported back in June, Apple's new mobile operating system, iOS6, will kill off Google Maps as the iPhone's pre-installed map application. (You'll still be able to use Google Maps on your iPhone, but you'll need to download the app from iTunes, and so far as we know, there's no way to make it the smartphone's default mapping application. Click on a map link in your email, and it'll open in the new Apple Maps.)

That's a pretty big risk for Apple. After all, Google Maps has been in development for years, and people have become very familiar with its functions -- even its quirks. Apple Maps will need to be spectacular right out of the gate, or Apple could see a substantial backlash.

Hello Waze, Yelp, TomTom

When we first heard about Apple Maps, we feared for the future of some of our favorite navigation apps. After all, if Apple Maps became the go-to app for getting from Point A to Point B, what would that mean for fun, gamified apps like Waze?

We're happy and intrigued to report, however, that Waze, Yelp, and TomTom will all be integrated into Apple Maps. According to Mashable, Apple Maps will incorporate real-time traffic data from Waze, turn-by-turn navigation from TomTom, and point-of-interest features from Yelp. Hooray for collaboration and synergy.

"Do Not Disturb"

As we mentioned in June, iOS6 will incorporate a new "Do Not Disturb" feature. Though details are still a bit fuzzy on how this will work in practice, it appears that "Do Not Disturb" will function like DriveSafe.ly or other distracted-driving apps: when the iPhone's accelerometer determines that the device (and its owner) are moving at a certain speed, it will slip into "Do Not Disturb" mode, silencing alerts and keeping the iPhone's screen black. "Do Not Disturb" probably won't be as robust as other distracted-driving apps, but it's nice to see this functionality built in.

Adapt to reuse

Anyone who's ever owned a Mac laptop is well aware of the company's endless array of dongles. Rather than sticking with common VGA and HDMI ports, Apple creates its own proprietary ports, then charges customers for adapters ("dongles") to connect those ports to projectors, TVs, and other accessories.

Now, it appears the iPhone has jumped on the dongle bandwagon. Gone is the iPhone's familiar 30-pin connector -- clunky though it was -- and now we have the much smaller, completely unique "Lightning" connector. Drivers who listen to tunes on their iPhone using a 30-pin cable (or who like to charge their phone in the car) will still be able to do so, but they'll have to shell out $30 for an adapter.

Why Apple couldn't have included a far-more-common micro-USB port remains a mystery.

Upside-down

Perhaps most frustratingly of all, Apple has moved the headphone jack to the bottom of the phone. For those who connect their iPhone to a car stereo via an auxiliary cable, that could make things complicated. You won't be able to rest the iPhone in a cupholder anymore, unless you're willing to rest it upside-down, which seems like an unnecessary distraction. Perhaps it's time to invest in a dock that attaches to your dashboard.

Do you plan to purchase an iPhone 5? Do these changes concern you? Or are you just happy to get your hands on Apple's newest, shiniest, lightest gadget? Let us know in the comments below.

2013 Nissan Murano Review by The Car Connection

If you've systematically sifted through the lists of crossover vehicles and they're all starting to look the same, the Nissan Murano might be your remedy; without sacrificing much usability as a family device, it somehow obviates blandness and anonymity, yet it doesn't use faux-rugged cues or imposing sheetmetal to do so.

As either a clean break away from the crossover-vehicle mainstream, or as a particularly cohesively styled family vehicle, the 2013 Murano, which reaches dealerships this fall and is essentially unchanged, remains a good-looking vehicle. The current version, we've thought, carries itself more assertively as a crisply detailed, high-shouldered tall wagon and less than the single-piece designer-footwear look of the first-generation Murano. The toothy chrome grille is a bit of a distraction to the rest of the design, but moving inside to the cabin it all meshes together in a convincing way, even though inside the Murano comes close to overdoing it on the rounded and bulbous shapes.

The 2013 Murano remains powered by Nissan's VQ V-6--a 3.5-liter making 260 horsepower, and mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). Even though we're not enthusiastic about CVTs, this one is an exception and seems quite well matched to the engine, allowing smooth, brisk acceleration without an excess of engine noise. There are no pre-programmed manual 'gears' with this unit, though--a slight to driving enthusiasts--yet the Murano steers and handles with more verve and directness than you'd expect from such a vehicle.

The Murano is sold mostly in front-wheel-drive form, but there's also an all-wheel-drive model, and AWD is included with the top-of-the-line LE. Most models are front-drive, but all-wheel drive is available, and comes standard on the most expensive Murano LE. It's worth noting that gas mileage is 18/24 mpg at best--at a time when some crossovers about this size achieve much better on the highway especially.

You'll find the front seats in the Murano to be comfortable and adjustable for a wide range of sizes, although the sunroof does cut into headroom. The rear bench feels a bit too low for adults, yet oddly, some adults might find headroom tight back there. That shortage of seating space, and the surprising lack of cargo space behind the second row, are both results of the curvaceous exterior. The second-row seatback folds forward to expand cargo space, but it's hardly a box-like area and the cargo floor is quite high.

For 2013, the Murano gets newly optional active-safety systems: Moving Object Detection, Blind Spot Warning, and Lane Departure Warning systems. All are included with the Platinum Edition or SL Navigation Package, and should help the visibility issues that the curvier body design introduces.

S, SV, SL, and LE versions of the Murano span a wide range of pricing and equipment, with the latter trims feeling like premium or luxury models--and priced that way. Power windows, locks and mirrors; climate control; and an AM/FM/CD player are included in all Murano models, while options include a heated steering wheel; Bose audio; leather upholstery; a navigation system; Bluetooth; and a rearview camera. Newly offered on SV models is an SV Value Package that includes Bose audio, a power liftgate, and a navigation system.

The peculiar Murano CrossCabriolet, a heavy two-door convertible version of the Murano continues for another year unchanged.

Source:  The Car Connection