Edmunds CarPool

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood made a big splash recently in his quest to crackdown on distracted driving. His campaign focuses on the most common behaviors behind the pandemic: speaking or texting on a cellphone while driving. As more states continue to add laws banning such behavior, Secretary LaHood has a popular new ally for his cause.

As her contribution to end distracted driving, Oprah Winfrey has pledged to make her vehicle a "No Phone Zone". The catchy slogan is park of a special page set up on her website  to encourage others to follow her safe driving lead. Via the site, folks can sign up and join her pledge to not drive distracted. So far, over 109,000 people have joined Oprah in her crusade. Cell phone usage is one of many distractions that can occur while driving, and Oprah should help bring more visibility to the issue.

Categories: Cars in Entertainment, Traffic Safety

One of my friends is ready to buy a new car. As you might imagine, when you're in my position and a friend or family member is ramping up for a car purchase the phone often rings (or, as in this case, the "New Email" folder goes bold).

My friend currently owns a 2005 Acura TL, which he purchased because of its combination of luxury, technology and quality. He's a successful lawyer, and financially capable of buying a much more expensive car, but he puts a lot of value on...well, value. When he asked me about the TL four years ago, and told me what his priorities were, I said, "The TL will absolutely serve your needs." He bought it and has had no regrets. But his driving habits rack up the miles quickly, and after four years his TL is pretty worn out.

So he's ready for a new car, and the just-redesigned 2009 Acura TL would be the obvious choice. After all, it still offers all the luxury, technology and quality of the previous version. However, in my friend's words, it is "quite ugly."

His girlfriend drives a 2006 Lexus RX, which he really likes except for one characteristic -- he HATES how the navigation system goes dead once the car is in motion. So he asked me in his email, "You're the car expert. Can you tell me if the new 2010 Lexus RX navigation system can be used while in motion or is it a completely useless upgrade like it has been to this point?" To which I replied, "Lexus=Toyota, and Toyota=nanny-ism. In other words, NO USING NAV WHILE DRIVING!"

This made him very unhappy and put him in a state where I can't reprint his next reply. It also made him write a no-nonsense letter to Lexus; a letter that generated a very corporate response. Follow the jump to read it.

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Categories: Acura, Car Audio and Technology, Honda, Lexus, Safety Systems, Talk Back Tuesday, Toyota, Traffic Safety

As pointed out by one KoC reader (thanks maxwell3), an op-ed piece in Sunday's New York Times has taken what seems to be a pretty logical position on the subject of automobile accidents and speeding. Essentially, Mr. Sepkowitz feels that too many people die every year in automobile accidents (a reasonable declaration), and he attributes one-third of these deaths to speeding.

His solution is pretty straightfoward: "...quit building cars that can exceed the speed limit."

As Mr. Sepkowitz points out, "Most cars can travel over 100 miles an hour -- an illegal speed in every state."

Can't argue with that. Is the solution as simple as limiting every car's top speed to the legal limits? Umm...no. Actually the holes in Mr. Sepkowitz "logic" could sink the Titanic, but I'll try to cover them all before Kate and Leo are floating on wreckage.

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Categories: Driving, Talk Back Tuesday, Traffic Safety

If you think Lamborghinis are nothing but non-renewable-resource-sucking status mobiles you probably don't care about yet another one being bashed and burned beyond recognition . And if you think Lamborghini drivers are nothing but self-centered, over-moneyed cads you probably don't care about one meeting the same fate as his car.

Ever since "Dietrich" (aka Stefan Eriksson) balled up a Ferrari Enzo on PCH in February of 2006 the image of the spoiled rich guy with more money than brains has pervaded the national consciousness. Certainly there were wealthy guys wrecking expensive cars before Eriksson, but the value of that particular car (a million dollars-plus), along with the colorful (and criminal) background of the driver seemed to represent all the worst aspects of exotic car owners.

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Categories: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Talk Back Tuesday, Traffic Safety

If you live in the states of California or Washington you probably (hopefully!), already know this, but in about 10 days you won't be able to hold a cell phone while driving.

I raise this issue not because I assume every reader of this blog lives in one of those two states, but because this is a growing trend and if you don't already face these laws, you likely soon will. California and Washington join New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in having such laws, with Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana and North Carolina looking to fall next. As such we've just posted a new article on hands-free laws and the devices that can help you address them.

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Categories: Car Audio and Technology, Traffic Safety

"Attention all you lumbering, gas-guzzling SUV drivers out there: It's time for you to do your duty as a good American and trade in that fuel hog for an efficient small car that simply meets your needs -- rather than blatantly exceeds them!"

The above sentiment is likely held by many Americans (and non-Americans, for that matter), but I'm not one of them. I agree it's foolish to own far more car than you really need, especially if it's your daily driver versus an occasional pleasure vehicle. But that just comes down to wasting gas money (especially these days) versus some imagined "moral imperative." If you've got the money to -- literally -- burn and simply must have an SUV, knock yourself out.

But the real point of this blog is to ask that dreaded question: How much safety are you giving up when you "go small" in your car choice? This is a question many SUV and large-car drivers are currently asking themselves, so it deserves a look.

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Categories: Fuel Efficiency, Safety Systems, Smart Car, Traffic Safety

I could be a tad biased, but we just posted what I consider a great story called Traffic Ticket Urban Legends. It's located in our Young Driver's Guide, yet this is a solid read for drivers of all ages. As much as I enjoyed seeing the myths I already knew about, it was far more interesting to learn about ones I'd never heard of.

For example, the "fool a breathalyzer with a penny" theory was new to me. And I actually thought it was against the law to drive barefoot -- it's not! It's not even against the law to ride a motorcycle barefoot, except in Alabama (makes you wonder what was going on in Alabama that made state legislators create this law...).

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Categories: Driving, Traffic Safety

I spent last Thursday and Friday at the California Superbike School, riding a Kawasaki ZX-6R around the Streets of Willow racetrack. I've wanted to take this school for almost 20 years, after first seeing the advertisements for it in motorcycle magazines around 1990. The idea of getting personalized instruction in a safe environment, and from an accomplished motorcycle racer like Keith Code, sounded almost too good to be true.

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Categories: Motorcycles, Traffic Safety

I don't know if any of you saw the recent L.A. Times story about vehicle trailers and the deaths/injuries associated with them, but it's a rather heart-wrenching report. Basically, the number of trailers on the road has increased by 50 percent in the past 15 years, as has the rate of carnage from trailer "accidents." I use the quotes because most of these accidents are the result of clueless drivers and/or negligent towing practices.

This gets to the heart of one of my major beliefs. See, as a certified freedom lover I hate the idea of restricting people's actions. But as a lover of logic, I realize you can't let everyone do whatever they want whenever they want to. The solution? Training-training-training.

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Categories: Driving, Talk Back Tuesday, Traffic Safety

Today's blog will be slightly shorter and less "automotive" than usual, simply because I was distracted yesterday by having a laser shot into my eye.

Yes, I just received wavefront-guided Lasik from the Maloney Vision Institute in Westwood. Beyond scoring these killer shades, I've also lost the need to wear glasses or contacts. "Great Karl, but did it hurt?" Come on, no pain-no gain. Plus it's really not that bad (though there was some burning as the initial pain-killers wore off on the ride home...)...

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Categories: Traffic Safety

I remember when OnStar first hit the market. The advertisements (they had a Batman theme back then) showed how OnStar could help drivers find a local business or the closest ATM. I tried it once in my own neighborhood in a Cadillac test vehicle. This was back around 2001, and I dutifully obeyed the driving instuctions as the OnStar operator directed me right past my local bank -- and ATM -- (about 8 blocks from my house) and on to an ATM about three miles away. I haven't used OnStar for directions since, but I'm willing to believe it's more accurate these days.

Other OnStar selling points include airbag deployment notification, remote door unlocking and even on-the-fly engine diagnostics. All of these features are interesting, but they also follow a common theme -- having somebody, somewhere, know as much or more about your vehicle than you do. Now comes the latest in OnStar "features" -- remote engine shut down. If you follow this link you can learn more and even see a video (crash footage included), but suffice to say OnStar can now disable your engine at will.

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Categories: Safety Systems, Traffic Safety

Well, just had my day in court to fight my July speeding ticket in the long-term Mini Cooper S. To dispense with the suspense: I lost.

But I must admit it was one of my more rewarding trips to traffic court for two reasons.

First, before the trial started Officer Williams appeared and asked me if I "really wanted to go through with this." Then he handed me a -- BUMM-BUMM-BUMM -- copy of my blog post related to this ticket. He exuded this "I have you now!" attitude, but I told him I was of course going through with it. He had highlighted various comments in the blog that, at least in his opinion, bolstered his case against me. Comments like, "I didn't intend to do 72, but I was playing with the radio..." Of course he didn't highlight other statements, like, "This is assuming that it was really me doing 72 mph. There were three cars in front of me..."

So reason number one I enjoyed my court date? I know Officer Williams read the original blog post regarding this traffic stop, and I made some great points in it regarding public safety and revenue generation that all police officers should hear.

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Categories: MINI, Traffic Safety

Well, she wasn't really Jennifer Aniston, but if she wanted to cause havoc by visiting local L.A. starlet clubs she easily could. Yet it wasn't a government employee resembling a mega-star that freaked me out when I started the process of fighting my latest speeding ticket yesterday. What surprised me was that she was sincerely pleasant and helpful in the process (I can handle attractive government employees, but nice ones???)  

This is on top of the unexpected news that Ventura County actually has a "Help Center" for its citizens. While no official legal advice is offered (obviously) the help center has resources like a "Fight Your Ticket and Win in California" book and computers where you can type up your motions for discovery to get all the notes the officer wrote down regarding your traffic stop. "Jennifer" went so far as to help me type up all the necessary forms...

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Categories: Driving, Traffic Safety

There are those folks out there, cynical types mostly, who think the system doesn't work. They feel like the government and the police have gone too far in the direction of "revenue generation" and lost sight of other, basic goals -- like public safety and prosecuting real criminals.

Well these people obviously weren't in Malibu this past Sunday, where a battery of police vehicles (cars, motorcycles and even a big RV with "CHP" painted on the side) were stopping every car and motorcyclist on Mulholland just west of The Rock Store. Yes, every motorist that passed -- at least until their ability to process folks was maxxed out, then they'd let a few vehicles slip by until the next slot in their mobile prosecution center opened up. Your speed didn't matter, nor the operating condition of your bike or car (though they were gunning people as they came up the hill, so if they could get you for speed they would).

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Categories: Driving, Motorcycles, Talk Back Tuesday, Traffic Safety