Score 1 for iDrive
#1
Lexus Champion
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Dang--just a Tom Tom:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-footpath.html
BMW left teetering on 100ft cliff edge after sat-nav directs driver up steep
A shocked driver is today facing a careless driving charge after his sat-nav left his BMW teetering on the edge of a cliff.
Robert Jones said he trusted the gadget and continued to follow its instructions, even when it took him up a steep, narrow footpath.
He only realised something was wrong when his car hit a fence and came to a stop just inches from a 100ft drop.
The 43-year-old, who works as a delivery driver, described the incident as a 'nightmare'.
He said 'It kept insisting the path was a road, even as it was getting narrower and steeper, so I just trusted it.
'I rely on my sat-nav, I couldn't do without it for my job.
'I guess I'm lucky the car didn't slip all the way over the edge. You don't expect to be taken nearly over a cliff.
Enlarge Cliff hanger: The BMW owned by Robert Jones is hauled back from a 100ft drop by a four-wheel drive quad bike
'It has been a bit of a nightmare.'
A recovery team using a four-wheel drive quad bike took nine hours to haul the BMW away from the cliff edge off Bacup Road in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.
The operation attracted a crowd of astonished residents.
One said: 'It's all well and good trusting your sat-nav, but how about trusting your eyes and when there's not a road in front of you, don't keep driving?
'I've heard of lorries getting stuck on village roads but this really takes lack of common sense to a new level.'
West Yorkshire Police confirmed they had charged Mr Jones, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
A spokesman said: 'Nobody was hurt, but when someone nearly drives off a cliff that shows a lack of care which needs to be investigated.
'The driver has been summonsed to court for driving without care and attention.'
The incident comes as Britain's worst ‘sat-nav blackspots’ were revealed for the first time.
In the worst cases, coaches or trucks have repeatedly become wedged in historic villages, and drivers have even been diverted up railway lines or across non-existent bridges.
Often the problems are caused by foreign drivers using navigation systems that were designed for cars.
Four million sat-navs, which can now cost less than £100, are thought to be in use in the UK.
The new research reveals 21 of the worst blackspots. They include one in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, where drivers are directed to a non-existent crossing over the River Severn.
Lucky escape: Mr Jones, 43, had followed the directions from his sat-nav up a steep, rocky path and only realised he was going the wrong way after crashing into a fence
Others include Rugley Road in Alnwick, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, where trucks often get stuck in a narrow ford; Alfriston, in East Sussex, where lorries are being steered through the historic village; and a right of way in Romiley, Stockport, that has been severely damaged by lorries getting stuck.
Only last week a driver drove 20 feet along the Doncaster to Hull railway line following an instruction from his device.
On another occasion 30 pensioners on a bus became wedged between grass banks on a sharp bend in Stroat, Gloucestershire.
The blackspots were revealed by Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker.
He said: ‘The technology is a blight on many communities. The rise in the use of sat nav devices has led to a doubling of the number of large vehicles hitting rail bridges.
‘This has the potential to be extremely dangerous. The Government must act to make sat nav devices safer for large vehicles.’
He said the Government had promised to update the law in 2006 to make sure the devices were not giving illegal advice to motorists, but he said nothing has been done.
A spokesman for market leader TomTom, said many of the problems were caused by lorry drivers using devices intended for cars, not the specialist models for HGVs that factor in height and width.
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings has already warned that Britain's historic bridges, buildings and roads are being damaged in this way.
And last year Network Rail blamed the devices for a sharp increase in the number of railway bridges being hit by lorries. The number of ‘bridge bashes’ is now more than 2,000 a year.
BMW left teetering on 100ft cliff edge after sat-nav directs driver up steep
A shocked driver is today facing a careless driving charge after his sat-nav left his BMW teetering on the edge of a cliff.
Robert Jones said he trusted the gadget and continued to follow its instructions, even when it took him up a steep, narrow footpath.
He only realised something was wrong when his car hit a fence and came to a stop just inches from a 100ft drop.
The 43-year-old, who works as a delivery driver, described the incident as a 'nightmare'.
He said 'It kept insisting the path was a road, even as it was getting narrower and steeper, so I just trusted it.
'I rely on my sat-nav, I couldn't do without it for my job.
'I guess I'm lucky the car didn't slip all the way over the edge. You don't expect to be taken nearly over a cliff.
Enlarge Cliff hanger: The BMW owned by Robert Jones is hauled back from a 100ft drop by a four-wheel drive quad bike
'It has been a bit of a nightmare.'
A recovery team using a four-wheel drive quad bike took nine hours to haul the BMW away from the cliff edge off Bacup Road in Todmorden, West Yorkshire.
The operation attracted a crowd of astonished residents.
One said: 'It's all well and good trusting your sat-nav, but how about trusting your eyes and when there's not a road in front of you, don't keep driving?
'I've heard of lorries getting stuck on village roads but this really takes lack of common sense to a new level.'
West Yorkshire Police confirmed they had charged Mr Jones, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
A spokesman said: 'Nobody was hurt, but when someone nearly drives off a cliff that shows a lack of care which needs to be investigated.
'The driver has been summonsed to court for driving without care and attention.'
The incident comes as Britain's worst ‘sat-nav blackspots’ were revealed for the first time.
In the worst cases, coaches or trucks have repeatedly become wedged in historic villages, and drivers have even been diverted up railway lines or across non-existent bridges.
Often the problems are caused by foreign drivers using navigation systems that were designed for cars.
Four million sat-navs, which can now cost less than £100, are thought to be in use in the UK.
The new research reveals 21 of the worst blackspots. They include one in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, where drivers are directed to a non-existent crossing over the River Severn.
Lucky escape: Mr Jones, 43, had followed the directions from his sat-nav up a steep, rocky path and only realised he was going the wrong way after crashing into a fence
Others include Rugley Road in Alnwick, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, where trucks often get stuck in a narrow ford; Alfriston, in East Sussex, where lorries are being steered through the historic village; and a right of way in Romiley, Stockport, that has been severely damaged by lorries getting stuck.
Only last week a driver drove 20 feet along the Doncaster to Hull railway line following an instruction from his device.
On another occasion 30 pensioners on a bus became wedged between grass banks on a sharp bend in Stroat, Gloucestershire.
The blackspots were revealed by Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker.
He said: ‘The technology is a blight on many communities. The rise in the use of sat nav devices has led to a doubling of the number of large vehicles hitting rail bridges.
‘This has the potential to be extremely dangerous. The Government must act to make sat nav devices safer for large vehicles.’
He said the Government had promised to update the law in 2006 to make sure the devices were not giving illegal advice to motorists, but he said nothing has been done.
A spokesman for market leader TomTom, said many of the problems were caused by lorry drivers using devices intended for cars, not the specialist models for HGVs that factor in height and width.
The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings has already warned that Britain's historic bridges, buildings and roads are being damaged in this way.
And last year Network Rail blamed the devices for a sharp increase in the number of railway bridges being hit by lorries. The number of ‘bridge bashes’ is now more than 2,000 a year.
#2
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Mr. Jones was probably busy scrolling thru the stupid-*** iDrive menus trying to change radio stations or something instead of paying attention to where the NAV was taking him ![Thumb Down](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/thumbsdown.gif)
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#3
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Mr. Jones was probably busy scrolling thru the stupid-*** iDrive menus trying to change radio stations or something instead of paying http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZstPD--l5oattention to where the NAV was taking him ![Thumb Down](https://www.clublexus.com/forums/images/smilies/thumbsdown.gif)
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Here is the i-drive demonstration on a 335..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZstPD--l5o
#5
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I guess they need to expand the text on the warning screen of these nav systems to remind drivers that the human brain may still need to be used in the event the computer messes up.
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#8
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Well "stupid ***" I-drive has voice command functions so Mr. Jones is the fool if his car was indeed equipped with i-drive.
Here is the i-drive demonstration on a 335..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZstPD--l5o
Here is the i-drive demonstration on a 335..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZstPD--l5o
even the guy making the video was amazed some of the voice commands actually worked.
of course try the voice commands while cruising at 65mph and see what happens.....
#11
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still not right....iDrive makes things more complicated rather than simplifying --to select the next CD track you have to hit a VR button then say the command, rather than just hitting a button to select the track.....you can't just select a radio station directly --- have to hit VR button and request it....please please please tune to 104.1
even the guy making the video was amazed some of the voice commands actually worked.
of course try the voice commands while cruising at 65mph and see what happens.....
even the guy making the video was amazed some of the voice commands actually worked.
of course try the voice commands while cruising at 65mph and see what happens.....
#12
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Wrong! Have you truly been inside of a i-drive equipped BMW before B? There are somethings that magazines won't cover.. Just like Marshall in his X5 review let me correct you on something. The stereo in i-drive equipped BMW's is located on the dashboard and has your typical volume ****, station preset buttons 1-6, eject, am/fm button just like many modern vehicles with a stereo.. A five year old will be able to turn it off and on by pressing the ****.. Hey, isn't this similar to Lexus? I see the same thing in my 98 GS400.. CD tracks, stations, volume can all controlled via the steering wheel buttons, stereo controls, voice command, or i-drive.
#13
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I drove a 7-series with one of the 1st gen iDrives and it was pathetic...I remember there was none of the usual radio controls....glad to hear they have somewhat fixed it. And yes, I had voice commands on my IS350...wasn't impressed at all with it...it made me never want to buy NAV on a car again...especially the not being able to program it while the car is in motion (the passenger should be able to do this). I had a a Q7 loaner for my wife's TT with NAV and was pretty impressed - it had a system similar to iDrive and and it was very easy to use - took all of 5 mins to learn the entire thing...never farted with the vocie commands tho (because of my crappy Lexus experience).
The stereo control on the 7 series including the last gen 745i is no different (7 series owners can chime in). The 2nd gen I-drive is available in 09 & up BMW's and has more buttons next to the i-drive controller.
#15
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Between Remote Touch from Lexus, Command from MB and Idrive from BMW, currently Idrive, imo, is by far the worst of the three. That is, however, being addressed with the new gen Idrive that, I believe is coming on the new 7 series (correct me if I'm wrong on this Dashocker
) that is supposed to be a huge improvement.
I don't really think Nav controls is going to be a deal breaker anyways when choosing this level of car. BMW has enough positive attributes going for it to overcome this.
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I don't really think Nav controls is going to be a deal breaker anyways when choosing this level of car. BMW has enough positive attributes going for it to overcome this.
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