Safety Concerns and Ensuing Inspections


In 2014, 3,179 people were killed and 431,000 more injured in crashes involving distracted drivers in the U.S.

According to a J.D. Power study released in August of 2015, 33 percent of more than 4,000 new-car owners recently surveyed said they “never use” the HUD displays in their vehicles. Respondents said that they didn’t find the technology useful and that the feature “came as part of a package on my current vehicle and I did not want it.”



Some Government Agencies and their Overdue Studies and Investigations (ever pressing and challenges are ever growing)

As of 2016, No federal standards govern the use of Head Up Displays (HUD), and that concerns some safety advocates. A report being prepared to be submitted the United States National Safety and Traffic Administration (NHTSA), the top U.S. automobile safety agency. The agency said it had begun to research the issue and expected to issue guidelines. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have concerns as well.This is just a few examples within America. Other countries as well are formulating new studies, research, and laws in regard to Head Up Display (HUD) and Heads Up Screens (HUS).

The auto industry once was responsible for 1 in 8 jobs in America. The amount of companies willing to put out a HUD product will only grow due to the fact that the automobile industry is a huge money maker. All nations must act now before it is too late where companies are so invested that they start to take short cuts, avoid proper criticisms, even cover up certain problems. A quote from the more high profile articles of the time - from a Sept 2015 New York Times article: “It’s like the Wild West out there in terms of what’s being put into cars, and we’re expressing caution because there are no standards,” said Deborah Hersman, president of the independent National Safety Council near Chicago and a former chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Views need to be periphery and not a isolated 2 numbers in the distant middle of the drivers side (with image) - not safe and can keep the full peripherial vision from sensing side oncoming traffic/threats.
Driving is constantly peripheral and not constantly/intermittently focussed on one small area checking multiple data!
HUD data not only keeps driver's from seeing the "MAIN FOCUS AREA", but the Peripheral Fields of View.
The picture above show a constant intersection and how the driver's need for always havng the best Field of View and Peripheral Fields of View! Once again - COMMMON SENSE!!!!
Fields of View are not merely left and right, but up and down - three dimensional and not 2 dimensional. HUD data though in a holograph is still 2 dimensional reads within a 3 dimensional Field of View.
In some countries like the U.S., many drivers have abandoned the driver's rule/law of not approaching on the right. The need for a Peripheral Field of View is more and moe important not only for this pass on the right reckless driving trends, but the facts that cars are larger and taking up more of the road, and cars are faster and a driver's reaction time is shorter. MORE IN ONE'S FIELD OF VIEW COMING AT THEM FASTER THAN ANY TIME! Today's HUD only makes these conditions worse.

Some Current Players in the field of HUD

So-called "extensive research" into the displays and their effects in the real world is being conducted by the Germany-based Continental AG, which manufacturers tires and automotive electronics. The company, which supplies head-up display components for automakers including BMW, Renault and Mercedes, said it was already developing the next generation of HUD systems. Those systems, called “augmented reality” displays, add a layer of information, making the displays more dynamic. For example, the display sees a vehicle ahead and places a halo light beneath it, which changes colors as the car comes closer to it. These new systems are expected to arrive in some models in 2017. Guido Meier-Arendt, principal technical expert for Continental has been quoted sating “It’s like the salt in the soup. It’s a must-have, but you have to be careful how much you use.” BULLSHIT ALERT.!!!  Jennifer Wahnschaff (a name meaning 'delusional sheep'), a Continental vice president, is confident that consumers will embrace the idea over time “as more manufacturers bring it to market, in all ranges of vehicles.”

Nippon Seiki, Harman, Denso, Continental, Visteon, Bosch, Panasonic, Delphi and other suppliers are marketing head-up displays. But all are struggling to solve some nagging technology problems. During the Detroit auto show, Panasonic unveiled a head-up unit that produces an image 16 inches wide by 6 inches high. That's roughly twice the size of most current head-up images. Twice the size!! Panasonic and other suppliers are racing to develop larger head-up images for "augmented reality" displays. Some possible uses might include highlighted lane markings in bad weather, visual warning symbols for road obstructions and turn-by-turn arrows. Douglas Patton, chief technical officer with DENSO, a large tier-1 supplier to the auto industry has said that he thinks HUDs are poised to play much more of a safety role (not idiotic features like radio, speed, navigation, etc) in the coming years, providing drivers with "much more valuable information that gets their eyes on the road." People who haven’t driven a HUD-equipped car often ask: “But isn’t it distracting, with all that information getting in your line of sight?” YES! HELLO - common sense anyone. Throughout history especially in capitalist times, the public has been deceived or partly deceived in the name of selling.

Hello regulators - Distractions!!!
There is most certainly too much data simultaneously viewed while driving. Drivers deal with one type of data at a time and seeing mutiple forms of data simultaneoulsy in their field of view is an obvious distraction.

What the ...?? Really! Too much! Too many distractions!!! Automobile drivers are not fighter pilots with radar and automobiles are not flying through a open blue sky with the ability to move up and down as well as side to side. Automobile drivers have to discern CONSTANT INCOMING DISTRACTIONS here on planet earth. Once again, multiple information simultaneously is not normal to read for drivers especially when this information is in one's windshield/field of view. This data is yes most importantly dangerous to others! Driving should be first and foremost discerning the top information/distractions in one's field of view.! All this amount of information is obviously too much. How about some common sense - When one needs to know how fast they are going they look easily just under the steering wheel keeping their head straight. That is one decision/information need. That is a normal demand - one at a time. Multiple information simultaneously is not normal and dangerous to others! Driving should be first and foremost discerning the top information/distractions in one's field of view.! NOT self-centered pleasures of images of precious radio stations, etc... This Head Up Display (HUD) is out of control and needs to be regulated in proper ways.

Distractions!!!
There is most certainly too much data simultaneously viewed while driving. Drivers deal with one type of data at a time and seeing mutiple forms of data simultaneoulsy in their field of view is an obvious distraction.

When in the hell are people involved in this Wild West stage of HUD going to realize or own up to the facts that these HUD displays can also make a driver more lazy, that is creating a mindset where drivers rely on technology to do what he/she should be doing in the first place. And what if this technology stalls or breaks down or fails.! Fighter pilots where HUD originated have more time to react to incoming threats in the open sky. Drivers have nanoseconds. Adding multiple data to be read outside of watching the road in a peripheral way is ultimately going to retard the driver. We need sensors like side motion detector that blink lights in the side view mirrors because we do not have eyes on the sides of our heads. But most of this HUD in the windshield is not needed and a distraction form the driver's first and foremost duty - knowing what is in front of him/her. Drivers DO NOT need speedometers in their windshield, nor radio stations, nor navigation arrows where the navigation is already telling you where to turn! 99% of people's drives are known and altering safe Dashboard Tops for this one feature is insanity!! This lazy HUD nonsense is designed for the most part to sell. HUD should concentrate merely on collision controls and now most significantly the redesigning of their HUD crooked box unit so it's reflection is not a constant distraction in the windshield!

Some Studies, and Observations (ever growing)

Driver Moinitroing Systems (DMS)/Driver Attention Monitors first introduced by Toyota in 2006 could be good for HUD if these (DMS) systems are reliable for sensing if the driver does not have his/her eyes on the road. BUT Speedometers for HUD are too basic to be messing with Dashboard Top design/Windshield's view
, and most certainly Media Selection (aka all your entertainment) is an obvious NO for HUD because that kind of data is best taken care of when at a stop or clear drive. Having Speed and Media in conjunction with other more important data will distract the driver! Having upcoming points of interest is also a definite NO! Basic Navigation Instructions are overkill as well because any navigation system will be telling you where to go with a voice (you hear the navigation commands) and that is by far the safest way to be guided. 99.9% of the time people know where they are driving to and having navigation part of HUD is also getting in the way of the more promising HUD features/signals.

Distractions!!!
There is most certainly too much data simultaneously viewed while driving. Drivers deal with one type of data at a time and seeing mutiple forms of data simultaneoulsy in their field of view is an obvious distraction.

HUD cannot be a Dashboard Control Panel!!!. This is common sense. But the opportunistic race to sell various versions of HUD is causing too many lenient experiments with too much information in the windshield! Drivers only use and process one aspect of the Dashboard Control Panel at a time. Having multiple indicators constantly in a drivers's face is a obvious distraction and it is time regulatory agencies and law makers take serious action. Regulatory agencies cannot rely on car companies, auto part suppliers, not even the automotive media because they are all invested in HUD. Imagine if HUD had all the information I have just begun to talk about - huge issue with distractions and huge issues with making the driver dependent upon technology and thus making them lazier drivers who could cause accidents. For example, Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) are good in theory but will the driver go faster and concentrate on other things (i.e radio, etc) instead of concentrating on the basic duty sensing the upcoming stop lights and knowing when to stop. We cannot make drivers less aware of the road.

Hello regulators - Distractions!!!
There is most certainly too much data simultaneously viewed while driving. Drivers deal with one type of data at a time and seeing mutiple forms of data simultaneoulsy in their field of view is an obvious distraction.

Collision Avoidance Systems (also known as precrash system, forward collision warning system, or collision mitigating system) are the HUD display I find to be totally worthwhile and worthy of more research. For example, a red warning light will appear when a driver appraoches a car too fast. Or if another car approaches the driver at an unsafe rate a red warning light will flash in the drivers view. The picture below shows a rudimentary kind of Collision Avoidance Systems. But once again, where is the crooked HUD box reflection on the windshield? This is more like a simple video game than the current functions and fuckups of HUD. I see some a future for Collision Avoidance Systems but they sensors should be at the nose of the car and not imbedded within the Dashboard Top where the HUD unit's reflection obstructs the driver's windshield view. The warning light does not even have to be in the driver's face but in the middle of the windshield.

HUD should first and foremost be about Collision Avoidance Systems

However many Driver-Assist Systems I believe can make the driver lazier. People have to be responsible drivers and the following can present problems. I like Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) aka Autonomous Cruise Control (ACC). ACC is an optional cruise control system for road vehicles that automatically adjusts the vehicle speed to maintain a safe distance from vehicles ahead. ACC, it confirms that the system detects a vehicle ahead by placing a halo of light just underneath it, which changes colors to indicate how close you are to the vehicle. The HUD also graphically shows the ACC gap setting (how close the driver chooses to be to a vehicle in front) by overlaying it on the road. I think Lane Departure Warning (LDW) to provide distinct visual alerts. I definitely think Blind Spot Monitors are great but they are loacted on the side view mirrors and not a issue for HUD.

In my opinion, HUD can be useful in some way in the area of Collision Avoidance Systems like Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), where the sensors are located at the nose of the car and a red warning light appears in the drivers view either via a holograph or within the windshield. The HUD or HUS for this type of warning light could be beamed from the center of the Dashboard Top to the center/center-left (driver's side) thereby not disturbing historically safe Dashboard Top design.

And then there is this being told where to drive via HUD? Knowing where to drive should be a no-brainer 99.99% of the time and anyone who needs this idiotic HUD feature should be tested again for a driver's license. This guided path feature actually inhibits a driver's ability to use their peripheral vision to sense incoming traffic threats from the sides. This feature is more offensive driving and not defensive driving. A rudimentary example of a HUD feature highlighting the path for a driver to drive in pictured below.

HUD should be about defensive driving and not offensive driving

I want to share a interesting common sense analogy about BMW's intermitant crooked box reflections in the driver's windshield view. I grew up practicing and competing in basketball and continue to to this day. A common no-brainer lesson all coaches will drill into one playing basketball is "get a hand in his face" when the opponent goes up for a shot. This phrase "get a hand in his face" is said knowing that the defender is not going to block the shot, but the common sense that any kind of incoming distraction can alter the basketball shooter's concentration/rhythm resulting in a missed shot. A driver with a intermitant reflection coming at them when they should see a constant clear view will be MORE likely to make mistakes. The driving experience is not smooth both consciously and unconsciously.

Logic dictates that any kind of intermittent image in one's face will distract in some ways.

Some Psychologists Studies (amazingly sparse/nonexistent to inevitably growing)

A University of Toronto report contradicts this assertion, claiming that, in practice, HUDs are distracting and "a threat to safety" because they force drivers to focus on two different things at once: the road ahead and the windshield." Drivers need to divide their attention to deal with this added visual information", says Ian Spence, who is a professor at the University of Toronto's Department of Psychology. "Not only will drivers have to concentrate on what’s happening on the road around them as they’ve always done, they’ll also have to attend to whatever warning pops up on the windshield in front of them".

To determine the impact, the report says that test subjects were shown between one and nine randomly placed spots and, on some trials, also a black square. When both appeared, the square was missed once in 15 times. However, when the number of spots increased, the square was missed once in 10 times.

Psychologists studies:  Before awareness of intermittant image and after.

The Issue of Inattentional Blindness
Inattentional Blindness is the event in which an individual fails to recognize an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight.


Investigations into automakers paying researchers for desired results/Confessions of researchers
....


ETC...
So the Automoitve Industry has new challenges, especially those like BMW who have gone all in on for the most part - unnecessary nonsense.


As car technology advances, the amount of information that HUD can show will naturally increase. This increases risk, according to the research, as drivers will more easily miss what is ahead while analyzing the information shown by the HUD.

Head Up Displays require specially treated windshields. Bulky optical equipment is needed to produce the image, and the optics box generates considerable heat. Suppliers are solving those problems gradually with each new generation of equipment.

Some good intentions and the perils of unnecessary luxury.
Etymology of luxury - excess.
BMW is the top luxury car maker by sales woldwide.


Some links to articles of the times about HUD as its intented HUD display yet not its complete display

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/33799/dash-board-reflection-in-windscreen

http://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/07/heads-up-displays-in-cars-can-hinder-driver-safety/

http://www.phillipslaw.com/head-up-display-driver-distraction

http://www.automotive-collision.com/head-up-displays-distractions/

http://www.petersonlawfirm.com/our-blog/2015/september/head-up-displays-more-distracted-drivers-/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/automobiles/as-head-up-displays-become-common-distraction-becomes-an-issue.html?_r=0

http://www.gizmag.com/hud-technology-driving-safety/38204/


www.omicsgroup.org/journals/headup-display-for-pilots-and-drivers-2165-7556.1000e120.pdf


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/technology/windshield-devices-bring-distracted-driving-debate-to-eye-level.html?_r=0


A common quote from those testing the Amped Up HUD:

"The only potential drawback to the technology is it could cause distraction on its own. Maybe it was just new to me but I found myself staring at the AR HUD a few times rather than looking through it at the road."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2461037,00.asp


1995!!! U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway Traffic Safety Administratlon

http://www.mvs.net/pdf/Human_Factors_of_HUDs.pdf



Outer Space/NASA
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20040065771.pdf