ntsb

Self-driving cars: Yes, please! Now, please!

I love to drive. And yet, I cannot wait for self-driving cars. Question is: who will bring them to the masses first? And how soon?

I hear your comments right now: "I will never let a computer drive me to work, it's not safe!" "I'm a great driver, it's everyone else who is the problem." "But I love my BMW/Audi/Mercedes/Hyundai Genesis/Ferrari/Jetta Sportwagen too much to ever let the car do the driving!"

Let's try to separate the mind from the machine, because trust me: mainstream … Read more

Transportation secretary won't back ban on hands-free calls

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said today he does not support a proposal to prohibit drivers from making hands-free cell phone calls.

"The problem is not hands-free," LaHood told reporters at the department's headquarters, according to a Detroit News report. "That is not the big problem in America."

The pronouncement came a week after the National Transportation Safety Board urged states to ban the use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices while driving. The NTSB doesn't have the authority to actually impose restrictions, but its recommendations often influence federal regulators as well as … Read more

Thoughts on emergency locator transmitters

As the search for aviator Steve Fossett continues, I've been thinking about the ways we try to track down missing people.

One of the leading independent experts on ELTs (emergency locator transmitters) is Doug Ritter, editor of the Equipped to Survive Web site. Ritter has written extensively about ELTs, which are installed on aircraft; EPIRBs, or emergency position-indicating radio beacons, which are carried on boats; and PLBs, or personal locator beacons, which are carried by individuals. If you have any interest in the subject, you should check out his Web site.

Ritter's most recent blog post, dated Thursday, concerns a recent memo from the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board to the administrator of the… Read more

Satellite TV in your car

We firmly believe in freedom on the road, but we have to draw the line at watching TV in the car. After all, if we're already concerned about using the phone while driving, how do you expect us to feel about channel surfing?

We hope, therefore, that KVH's "TracVision A7" is designed for the passengers in the vehicle because it would be dangerously distracting to anyone behind the wheel. The mobile receiver provides up to 185 DirecTV channels and XM Satellite Radio, as well as standard broadcast transmissions. And if you can't resist sneaking a … Read more