NTSB attempted ban of hands free devices

[Steve A]

How is this going to affect Onstar? The NTSB is calling for a ban on all hands free devices. I for one use Onstar quite often because I get better service on my truck then I do on my phone in certain places. I like the fact that it is voice activated, I dont have to punch in numbers etc...

Whats the though about this topic on here. How many people use Onstar and what will this have on Onstar in the future?

Steve

 

[Jkust]

How is this going to affect Onstar? The NTSB is calling for a ban on all hands free devices. I for one use Onstar quite often because I get better service on my truck then I do on my phone in certain places. I like the fact that it is voice activated, I dont have to punch in numbers etc...

Whats the though about this topic on here. How many people use Onstar and what will this have on Onstar in the future?

Steve

My wife has the full onstar package with the telephone package. It is a great insurance policy when I travel and am not around to help out plus if you throw a code onstar tells you exactly what it is and the code number. I haven't connected it to my 9-7x however. They'll never ban it. The distracted driving laws will take care of this plus we are a nation of law breakers. Ban whatever you want, we will work around it. Plus 2012 should hopefully fix the runaway government.

By the way regarding onstar, the manual says you can tether your verizon phone package, not just your phone directly to your onstar. I wonder if that is still possible. In other words instead of the dollar a minute onstar minutes you use your cell phone service but with all the onstar hands free functionality. That is almost better than blue tooth in some instances.

 

[The_Roadie]

...the manual says you can tether your verizon phone package, not just your phone directly to your onstar. ...

No longer possible. I was one of the first to sign up for in the San Diego test market. Post bankruptcy, GM didn't have a contract with Verizon and you could no longer start that service, which was $10 a month for the vehicle's line, shared family plan minutes. Then a couple of months ago, Onstar said that the folks like me who were grandfathered in were going to lose the feature in a few months and could revert to paying for Verizon minutes directly, but those were monthly-expiring minutes and I don't use the Roadiemobile as a daily driver anymore so I just cancelled.

 

[Jkust]

No longer possible. I was one of the first to sign up for in the San Diego test market. Post bankruptcy, GM didn't have a contract with Verizon and you could no longer start that service, which was $10 a month for the vehicle's line, shared family plan minutes. Then a couple of months ago, Onstar said that the folks like me who were grandfathered in were going to lose the feature in a few months and could revert to paying for Verizon minutes directly, but those were monthly-expiring minutes and I don't use the Roadiemobile as a daily driver anymore so I just cancelled.

Sadly that's about what I expected since there was no mention of it on the onstar website when I check out the monthly summary email. So we have this great functionality but can not utilize it.

 

[The_Roadie]

There was discussion on the OS of a Bluetooth interface module to add this capability a couple of years back. Bluestar.

costartech.com - BlueSTAR

$279.

Don't remember if anybody bought one. A visor mount Bluetooth speakerphone or bluetooth enabled head unit is cheaper, but for folks who refuse to upgrade from the OEM head unit this could be an alternative.

 

[Jkust]

There was discussion on the OS of a Bluetooth interface module to add this capability a couple of years back. Bluestar.

costartech.com - BlueSTAR

$279.

Don't remember if anybody bought one. A visor mount Bluetooth speakerphone or bluetooth enabled head unit is cheaper, but for folks who refuse to upgrade from the OEM head unit this could be an alternative.

I checked that out recently and my recollection is you have to disconnect the onstar unit. It also had a number of inprovements that needed to be made to it for full functionality.

 

[walterc4553]

I checked that out recently and my recollection is you have to disconnect the onstar unit. It also had a number of inprovements that needed to be made to it for full functionality.

Check out Bluefusion and my write-up on the OtherSite. (I plan to move it along with my other write-ups when I get a chance for anyone that wants to make that comment).

I have had it for a while now and love it. Stream music, easy to use. A few quirks but overall the best Mod I have done.

Check out e-bay and they can be had for <$50.

 

[Jkust]

Check out Bluefusion and my write-up on the OtherSite. (I plan to move it along with my other write-ups when I get a chance for anyone that wants to make that comment).

I have had it for a while now and love it. Stream music, easy to use. A few quirks but overall the best Mod I have done.

Check out e-bay and they can be had for <$50.

Ok that looks too good to be true. Can your onstar stay connected? Are you using a factory navigation radio?

 

[Jkust]

Check out Bluefusion and my write-up on the OtherSite. (I plan to move it along with my other write-ups when I get a chance for anyone that wants to make that comment).

I have had it for a while now and love it. Stream music, easy to use. A few quirks but overall the best Mod I have done.

Check out e-bay and they can be had for <$50.

I looked for your write up on the other site and it seems it is no longer there. My searches for other stuff come up with an error message after I click on a search result. I wish we could just use the 09 on up built in blue tooth for our platform.

 

[Ghoster]

The push is to ban hand held devices, not hands free devices. This ban is coming. Maybe not this time, but it will get here eventually. It is already illegal to use a handheld device while driving in the state of Maryland, and we are NOT the first to enact these laws. The auto manufacturers have seen this coming. Have you looked at a new Chevy? Virtually every model has built in blue-tooth connectivity. The one in my Tahoe is very well done. It functions as well and sound better than the Pioneer Avic I had in the last truck. Remember to check when you are traveling, many states have already banned hand held use.

 

[Jkust]

The push is to ban hand held devices, not hands free devices. This ban is coming. Maybe not this time, but it will get here eventually. It is already illegal to use a handheld device while driving in the state of Maryland, and we are NOT the first to enact these laws. The auto manufacturers have seen this coming. Have you looked at a new Chevy? Virtually every model has built in blue-tooth connectivity. The one in my Tahoe is very well done. It functions as well and sound better than the Pioneer Avic I had in the last truck. Remember to check when you are traveling, many states have already banned hand held use.

Actually the bigger push IS to ban hands free devices. The rub for instance is against amongst others Ford with their large investment in their sync system. Similar to the obamacare push where the real effort is not affordable health insurance obviously by the law making it more expensive and more unobtainable but a single payor system via running the insurance companies off the rails.
In MN only texting while driving is currently banned but a federal ban on hand helds, please. When they specifically ban (above and beyond current distracted driving laws) dog's on laps, women applying make up, fastfood in cars, children in cars, radios in cars, dvd players in cars, buttons in cars, ipods in cars, CD's in cars, arguing in cars, being lost in cars, putting your sun glasses on in cars, scratching your head in cars, picking your nose in cars, then we will talk.

 

[Steve A]

The push is to ban hand held devices, not hands free devices. This ban is coming. Maybe not this time, but it will get here eventually. It is already illegal to use a handheld device while driving in the state of Maryland, and we are NOT the first to enact these laws. The auto manufacturers have seen this coming. Have you looked at a new Chevy? Virtually every model has built in blue-tooth connectivity. The one in my Tahoe is very well done. It functions as well and sound better than the Pioneer Avic I had in the last truck. Remember to check when you are traveling, many states have already banned hand held use.

Here is the link from the NTSB: NSTB calls for nationwide ban on PEDs while driving

It states all calls with the exception of emergency calls. I dont know where its going to lead, but they are calling for high vis enforcement... I have reduced my texting to a few messages a trip, much less than what I was doing.

Steve

 

[Ghoster]

Actually the bigger push IS to ban hands free devices. The rub for instance is against amongst others Ford with their large investment in their sync system. Similar to the obamacare push where the real effort is not affordable health insurance obviously by the law making it more expensive and more unobtainable but a single payor system via running the insurance companies off the rails.
In MN only texting while driving is currently banned but a federal ban on hand helds, please. When they specifically ban (above and beyond current distracted driving laws) dog's on laps, women applying make up, fastfood in cars, children in cars, radios in cars, dvd players in cars, buttons in cars, ipods in cars, CD's in cars, arguing in cars, being lost in cars, putting your sun glasses on in cars, scratching your head in cars, picking your nose in cars, then we will talk.

Yes... but a lot of that is just news sensationalism. What the NTSB has said, and we all know is true, is that use of ANY device that distracts us from driving is dangerous. How dangerous? That is still up for debate. Is texting worse than a hands free device? Sure. Is a Ford worse than a Chevy, hell yes! They are not going to try to ban hands free devices right now. They will push for hand held devices first. Then when they can prove that hands free devices are almost as bad, they will then try to ban them. This ban is still far far away. However, I see the push to ban hand held devices being relatively soon.

 

[Steve A]

Is texting worse than a hands free device? Sure.

I totally agree with this, I am working hard to curb my texting use.

Is a Ford worse than a Chevy, hell yes!

Totally agree with this as well... Friends dont let friends drive Fords...They are not going to try to ban hands free devices right now.

They will push for hand held devices first.

Most states have laws against texting and the use of "non-handsfree" phones.

I just wonder what Onstar, and (puke) Sync thinks about this...

 

[Ghoster]

I totally agree with this, I am working hard to curb my texting use.



Totally agree with this as well... Friends dont let friends drive Fords...They are not going to try to ban hands free devices right now.



Most states have laws against texting and the use of "non-handsfree" phones.

I just wonder what Onstar, and (puke) Sync thinks about this...

I would think that sooner or later we will see onstar and sync start producing the reports that show how much better hands free is than hand held. Just to show us how much safer they make us.

 

[Jkust]

Yes... but a lot of that is just news sensationalism. What the NTSB has said, and we all know is true, is that use of ANY device that distracts us from driving is dangerous. How dangerous? That is still up for debate. Is texting worse than a hands free device? Sure. Is a Ford worse than a Chevy, hell yes! They are not going to try to ban hands free devices right now. They will push for hand held devices first. Then when they can prove that hands free devices are almost as bad, they will then try to ban them. This ban is still far far away. However, I see the push to ban hand held devices being relatively soon.

I might have agreed with the news sensationalism argument pre-dictatorship but now I don't think you could be sensationalistic enough to represent the true intentions of the federal government. I agree with you though on the stairstepping that will likely occur. I don't text or email while I drive and I live via email and the phone for work. I will wait until I stop to text or email anybody. The really bad drivers I encounter every single day aren't the hand held phone talkers, they are just slow and hold up the flow. It is the texters and emailers that are all over the road. I almost got a sideswipe yesterday in my week old 9-7x at 65mph on the freeway while the driver was texting. It was someone in a VW. Distracted drivers are an every single day occurrence and I think you have to net every distraction not just texting because although texters really bug me, I see every sort of disctraction.
The last car accident I was in was really bad getting rear ended while sitting in the left turn lane then getting pushed into oncoming 60mph traffic and got the full brunt of what a head on, offset crash can do in addition to the rear end. The woman admitted she was distracted by her kid and turned around to discipline him and veared over in the my turn lane. The severly injured head on crash other car driver was an illegal, mexican, alien not wearing a seatbelt. My air bag and seatbelt saved me that day. Do we ban kids or just whiny kids or turning around or shouting or what? I expect there is some thought of big revenue generation here as well.

 

[navigator]

I rarely use a phone while driving but do on occasion and for only short use when I need to and am not in heavy traffic.
I can't see that hands free use is any different than talking to a passenger seated next to you.
Inevitably though if someone almost runs over me or is running 10mph under the speed limit they have a phone in their hand.

 

[Ghoster]

Do we ban kids or just whiny kids or turning around or shouting or what? I expect there is some thought of big revenue generation here as well.

Just to be clear... I have been for banning whiny kids for years!!!

 

[Jkust]

Just to be clear... I have been for banning whiny kids for years!!!

That is one law I can get behind but it needs to apply at home as well.

 

[walterc4553]

I looked for your write up on the other site and it seems it is no longer there. My searches for other stuff come up with an error message after I click on a search result. I wish we could just use the 09 on up built in blue tooth for our platform.

I just looked also.. Then realized that I am on Global ban over their for putting GMTNation in my SIG.

I will try to get the article posted tonight when I get home.

But it is for real.. Works with my Onstar and I do have the phone minutes also. It also works with XM.

Since you are in MN let me know if you want to see if and we could setup a meet... Barrons also wants to meet and I think a few others would join. Maybe an over the holiday meet?

 

[Blade]

Yes... but a lot of that is just news sensationalism. What the NTSB has said, and we all know is true, is that use of ANY device that distracts us from driving is dangerous. How dangerous? That is still up for debate. Is texting worse than a hands free device? Sure. Is a Ford worse than a Chevy, hell yes! They are not going to try to ban hands free devices right now. They will push for hand held devices first. Then when they can prove that hands free devices are almost as bad, they will then try to ban them. This ban is still far far away. However, I see the push to ban hand held devices being relatively soon.

We have had the hand held ban here for about a year. A few tickets have been issued but you still see people on their phone every day. Sometimes talking and sometimes texting.

Like you were saying, this new integrated bluetooth system on the 09+ Escalades is great. It kills the radio volume, displays the caller ID on your DIC, all with a voice tag from your phone as to who is calling. So you can choose to answer or call back later.

I have a goofy little app that reads my emails out loud too. (drives wife nuts) Just in case its important I can get to it quickly.

 

[Jman423]

Texting, I agree with. Hand-held device, I can understand. Hands free, how would they enforce what they can't see?

I, for one, would not be willing to abide by that rule, I wear an earpiece when driving. But seeing as they are not able to stop you from using your car radio or talking to your passengers, I don't think it will work out but I'm sure they'll try.

 

[tbuckalew14]

I do think it should all be banned except for emergencies. But how would they enforce it on hands free. It's the people that get real involved in their conversations(with or without a hands free device) that are the ones not paying attention.

Then again they may as well ban listening to music too. People stop paying attention when they get too into the music also. I was rear ended about 6 months while at a stop sign...the kid said he was listening to the music and didn't notice the traffic was stopped.

 

[Jman423]

But the line has to be drawn somewhere. If not, we may as well make it illegal to drive at all, because it is potentially dangerous.

 

[Jkust]

I would like to see a law against drumming on your steeringwheel whenever Golden Earing Twilight Zone is on the radio. That should make the roads safer.

 

[n0kfb]

Doesn't every state already have laws against careless driving? Why do we need another law?

-- Dan Meyer

 

[Jkust]

Doesn't every state already have laws against careless driving? Why do we need another law?

-- Dan Meyer

That's kind of the whole point to our bantering. To me this is like classifying some crimes as 'hate' crimes that when a crime fits into that category the sentence is more severe. An assault on a white guy and one on a gay, white guy somehow aren't the same. This is government run amuck and certainly the mission of the NTSB run amuck. At least this is the kind of thing that will anger both non-tax paying liberals/progressives when they are at the voting booth voting for who will give them the most free stuff and actual tax payers. The gov has been working on creating technology that will simply disable hand helds/hands free in the car. Pretty sure it is a reality on some level now. Soon we will be so Europeanized, there won't be a generation that even knows how great a country this was.

 

[Vicompc]

Changing the subject, you can buy 100 minutes a month from On Star for $4.00 which isn't too bad and it will let you keep your hands free option without all the clutter on the visor for the Bluetooth module

 

[Jkust]

Changing the subject, you can buy 100 minutes a month from On Star for $4.00 which isn't too bad and it will let you keep your hands free option without all the clutter on the visor for the Bluetooth module

Back up there. Onstar minutes last time I looked were way more than that. Where do you see that? Below from the Onstar site 100 minutes cost $39.99.

SPECIAL OFFER
Use your special offer for a better connection on the road.
minutes
200 Minutes Exclusive / 12 mo
100 Minutes / 12 mo
300 Minutes / 12 mo
500 Minutes / 12 mo
1000 Minutes / 12 mo
price
$ 69.99
$ 39.99
$ 114.99
$ 174.99
$ 299.99

 

[Fire06]

Before you know it they will ban drinking your coffee too.

 

[v7guy]

I think the biggest issue is responsibility.

Our culture is less and less willing to be accountable for their actions. Many people don't consider that what they do affects other people. I don't see that hands free is any more or less distracting than a passenger. But I've been put on the shoulder on more than one occasion by someone texting or holding a cell to their head. I'm tired of having to honk after I sit at a green light for 5-10 seconds while the person in front of me is texting and doesn't realize they're holding everyone up. My sister had her arm and ribs broken when a driver in an Explorer ran a red light and sideswiped the Accord she was in. The driver of the Explorer got out and said she didn't see the red light, she was texting on her phone (at least she manned up). I use a bluetooth device and I also realize that I'm going to be less able to respond to other drivers with one hand on the wheel than I will be with two. Hell, I try to not eat or drink while I drive because of it.

Up here it's 3 points on your license and a fine for using a cell with no hands free and driving. They changed it from 2 pts to 3pts with a higher fine after it didn't curb the usage. I have no problem with that. Bluetooth devices are cheap and plentiful. I wish there were more cops to enforce it. If someone is driving recklessly I'm all for using that for a ticket while you're disciplining junior driving down the highway, but in my experience cell phones and texting cause way more distraction, way more frequently.

I'm really surprised if I think about it, because I'm generally all about less government is better. I'm not generally for legislating being responsible.

 

[Vicompc]

If you call on-star and talk to the retention dept. they will negotiate the rates, they started out at the $39.99 rate and worked their way down from there. I'm paying 16.00 per month for 0n-Star and 100 calling minutes.

 

[TollKeeper]

Looking for more info on the bluefusion. I checked on Ebay, there seems to be many diferent models. Is there a way to figure out which one if for my XUV? I would so love to stream some audio to my deck, BlueTooth would be a huge bonus!!.. Just bought a navigation unit, Bought a 2007 Nav DVD, and waiting for the radio to arrive so I can buy the correct GPS antenna.

Johnny 5 need MORE INFO!!!

 

[LBB]

The problem we have here is, that people had have there phone on there ear don't look to the left or right a all.
They tend to cut corners as they think they are alone on the road.

A headset can help with the not looking problem.
But in the USA it's a general problem that some people can't do without there phone.

I wish they would have more areas where it cost a fine for not having a hands free system.

I had to stop more than ones in my tracks because someone choose not to look to the left or right.

 

[offroadking208]

There was discussion on the OS of a Bluetooth interface module to add this capability a couple of years back. Bluestar.

costartech.com - BlueSTAR

$279.

Don't remember if anybody bought one. A visor mount Bluetooth speakerphone or bluetooth enabled head unit is cheaper, but for folks who refuse to upgrade from the OEM head unit this could be an alternative.

I was reading about this on another forum. If there was enough interest in it, maybe we could do a group buy?

Check out Bluefusion and my write-up on the OtherSite. (I plan to move it along with my other write-ups when I get a chance for anyone that wants to make that comment).

I have had it for a while now and love it. Stream music, easy to use. A few quirks but overall the best Mod I have done.

Check out e-bay and they can be had for <$50.

How have you liked it so far? Did they ever fix the sound quality while streaming over bluetooth with an update?

 

[TollKeeper]

How have you liked it so far? Did they ever fix the sound quality while streaming over bluetooth with an update?

I have no sound quality issues with my BlueFusion. It worked great with both my 6disc, and my Saab Navi system.