A recent study conducted by General Motors’ safety sub-brand Periscope indicates stress caused by the pandemic is having a negative effect on American motorists and contributing to a rise in vehicle crashes.
According to the study, the findings of which were published by Periscope through a series of infographics on GM’s website, vehicle crashes and traffic deaths were up 12 percent between 2020 and 2021, which can partially be attributed to “extremely high levels of stress and anxiety as a result of the pandemic.” The study also found that the pandemic resulted in increased consumption of drugs and alcohol among driving-age individuals and created “great opportunities for speeding and stunt driving” due to reduced traffic.
The study also looked at how emotions impact people’s driving behaviors, as the pandemic has been a highly emotional time for many Americans. Of the individuals surveyed, 40 percent said they feel more anxious when driving than they did before the pandemic. Additionally, one-third of participants said they have pulled their vehicle over as they felt too emotional to drive, while another 54 percent of people report that they’ve cried while driving.
“We all know that our phones, passengers and other drivers can be major distractions behind the wheel,” GM says on its website. “But research has discovered a new risk factor on the road: stress. In fact, stressed driving can be as risky as texting on a hand-held phone while driving.”
GM launched its Periscope sub-brand last year, which is an extension of its “zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion” driving safety initiative. Periscope is tasked with conducting safety-related surveys so GM has a better understanding of traffic safety in the current day, advocating for policies that promote safer vehicles and roadways and integrating new safety technologies into GM vehicles. Some GM safety technologies that fall under the Periscope umbrella include Buckle to Drive, Teen Driver mode and OnStar Guardian.
While not explicitly mentioned as being part of Periscope’s portfolio, semi-autonomous technologies like GM’s Super Cruise and upcoming Ultra Cruise can also help curb distracted driving from stress or mobile phones. This technology will not allow the driver to operate in semi-autonomous mode unless they are looking at the road ahead, with their eye movements and head position constantly tracked via a cabin-facing camera. The automaker also hopes fully autonomous vehicles like the Cruise Origin will eventually make streets safer in major cities and reduce the rate of vehicle crashes in these areas.
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Comments
I doubt it is the pandemic and more likely this administration. Their logic “if it can go wrong we will make it”
This is not a political issue, and this is no place to think so.
S T O O P I D is a universal quality bestowed on upon all creeds.
Every family no matter what they believe has just as much chance as any other to inherit
or develop this quality .
We come here because we have something in common. Is it really necessary to inject politics to tear us apart.
You must be new here. Politics has been a center point on here for years
No sh*t!
If the beginning of the pandemic was handled by intelligent people as opposed to the way it was handled by the previous administration, Americans would be experiencing a lot less stress, in addition to more being alive.
Cry more
Or perhaps the efforts to deny citizens their rights and restore the previous aspiring dictator to office, by whatever means required.
Naw it’s definitely the goof in office now.
Yes, you are right. The aspiring dictator we just got rid of, is the reason we have most of the problems we have now.
A true Democrat if I ever heard one! Yeah, blame it on the other guy. It took Biden one year to f*ck up, what it took Trump four to do and even then Trump did a lousy job.
Talk about blaming the other guy.
The Retardlican-In-Chief kept putting the blame for all the country’s ills on the previous administration for four long years.
Yes, we should delegate that the current administration not blame the previous administration for the country’s ill’s. Let’s see how that works out for us? In the mean time, things are just wonderful!
So you ARE in favor of blaming the other guy like you claim the Dems do
This is good we could go on forever! The problem we have is that our choice has always been the lesser of two evils, oh well! And the answer to your question is that the only decent Democratic president was Kennedy, then Johnson! This is America, everybody blames everybody, it is what it is!
See what kills me is how an auto website got so political? I put the blame on the writer’s who write stupid articles, really who gives a sh*t about GM’s study? People get stressed that’s a fact is GM going to provide a Psychologist with every new car? They can’t even produce vehicles, let alone safety feature’s to put them, so the article is mute. All I give a sh*t about is cars, so there!
On most of that we are in agreement my friend.
Staring into their laps…. too many drivers I pass every day are starting into their laps and anywhere else, but not looking in
front of them.
With the goal of crash elimination and the advancements of safety technology, doesn’t anyone wonder why the auto manufacturers haven’t developed technology that prevents a driver from driving while impaired? Can you imagine the savings in injury, death and damage, insurance, law enforcement and the courts if (when) vehicles are equipped with that technology? Why haven’t our governments mandated that? Why do we not insist on it?
Why would you put technology in a vehicle that would be a sales killer?
If some people will pay 25% over MSRP for everyday vehicles they will pay someone to defeat it.
You mean like seat belts and airbags? That’s one of the reasons governments need to legislate it.
Should have stopped with the “…prevents a driver from driving.” Now that would stop all the death on the roads!
It HAS been mandated. Coming 2026. It’s basically a variant of drowsy/distracted driving monitors that use the forward camera and steering angle, with potential gaze tracking.
It’s easy for politicians and insurance lobbyists to dream about it, but there are still ongoing issues with no good answers.
1: Liability. Say a drunk driver isn’t detected by the system and get in a crash. People are going to sue the automaker. That means more costs for you, the consumer.
2: What are you going to do when the system detects a drunk driver? Call 911? Honk the horn like an alarm? Merely put up an advisory message? The latter is what we do today for tired/distracted driver alerts, and doesn’t seem very effective for DUI.
3: If you are going to do something drastic, are you going to have an override? What if you’re teaching your kid how to drive and his inexperienced driving triggers the system? Are you going to get the cops dispatched? What prevents a DUI driver from overriding?
4: How much anti-tamper are you going to do? If you have a habitual or knowledgeable DUI driver, they’re just going to cover the forward anti-collision camera with tape. System defeated.
The problem is you’re not trying to prevent an accident, like drowsy driver alerts or automatic braking. You’re trying to prevent somebody from intentionally committing a crime. That’s a whole lot harder and raises privacy and civil liberty concerns.
GM has nothing better to do with their money and you wonder why their market share is down, what a bunch of dumbass’s!
A case of taking one to know one?
Wow this coming from someone with a stupid name and picture, what exactly is that supposed to depict? It shows confusion as do some of the remarks of yours that I have read.
Because they get answers like this, ma’am or sir, can you define a woman?
I’m not a biologist 🤣🤣🤣🤣STOOPID
Collision avoidance and lane keeping assist are on my 2017 base model cheap Prius, and I think it is great.
My 2021 Corvette 2LT does not have either feature, it will drift out of its lane, and has no problem running into
anything in front of it. Why can’t GM add collision avoidance and lane keeping on a Corvette ???
Technical reason: The spot where the forward collision assist camera goes would get in the way of the PDR camera. Same issue with the Camaro, where PDR deletes AEB.
Marketing reason: people who buy a high performance car like the Corvette would turn it off anyway because it would interfere with sports driving.
I recently completed a 4 month nightmare of getting my 2019 Silverado LD repaired after getting hit
by an uninsured driver on the way to work. The shortages of everything these days meant waiting
3 months for the parts to arrive , then a month of actual repair time.
Rental cars are also hard to find these days , so ended up driving my crumpled truck for those 3 months while
we waited for the parts to come in.
We’ve only seen the beginning of all the things that are going to be blamed on the pandemic. What annoys me the most is that nearly every company I patronize has reduced their customer service to a “customer NO-service NO-support” level. Most of them are useless and they blame it on the pandemic.
No kidding, everything is the fault of the pandemic. Good excuse for laziness!
Quit driving like a maniac, get off the phone and stop playing with your giant infotainment screen.
The world used to be the place where only the strongest, smartest and only a few of the lucky survived.
This led to people being self sufficient and to respect others who also survived.
Today the herd is now filled with many who would never have lived to see 20 years old back in the old days,., They would have been a victim of wild life, lack of food and just of their own stupidity. Back then you paid with your life.
The intelligent either left the bear alone or knew how to kill it. The less blessed would have been lunch.
We have people today that seldom have one let alone two competent parent to raise them. Many are on drugs and alcohol long before we heard of Covid. They lack respect for nearly everyone and every thing and are so self centered they blame everyone else for their failings.
Most are too busy on their cell phone to respect others life. Or in too many cases they are so self centered they do the burnout to show off before they hit the crow of people standing near by. Who here is the worst? The driver being an idiot or those who have seen the videos of people being hit but yet still stand there watching?
I said a long time ago making cars safer with Airbags and belt laws has lowered the general IQ. Before these folks were eliminated and now today they reproduce. It is like a copier you keep making a copy of a copy and the quality drops with each generation.
Hey C8 I was wondering when you would weigh in? That is so, so deep! If you don’t have a Ph. D. in Philosophy, I will be very disappointed? I’m sorry I couldn’t help myself, you just bring it out in me!
Bill thanks for popping in.
You are a great example of where the bear would win.
Keep up the good work of being the example of where it all is going wrong.
Oh well, what can I say. It’s better to be a bear than a sheep. Have you meet with the GM exec’s yet, I really want that Caddy or Camaro or Vette! But hey I’m not holding my breath and standing on a soap box like you “ain’t gonna fix things”. So talk to you later. bro!
So let’s take automotive design to the logical extreme; move the driver seat and controls ahead of the bumper. Make all accidents fatal, now that will make us all better drivers! Can’t imagine any downsides to this concept based on the reminiscing for the “good old days” with the associated sub 35 year average life expectancies.
Keep your eyes on the road. Do not drive if you are sick or upset. Says that in the CA drivers handbook. Words to live by !
Whew that is a big help.
Was it in Spanish for the illegals with no license.
C8 your dissing again, shame, shame!
The pandemic is a very convenient go to catch all excuse for everything.
Blame game par excellence. What is at play is the myriad of electronic digital playthings. Drive up fast food windows. Vaping and smoking. Small unibody beer can vehicles. And the tremendous volumes of urban bumper to bumper traffic.
David Alan what took you so long? So you and C8 gonna fix sh*t.
Bill:
My comments are intended to give the suits and pant suits (ladies) in the Ren Center towers and front offices of the GM plants (where some do in fact read these comments) some thoughts and ideas for consideration. GM Authority is a marketing tool and also a huge feedback tool from folks with an interest in motor vehicles and the automaking industry. The bashers and badmouthers that post drivel on this forum are counterproductive. C8.R’s comments and others, like Ci2.Eye are something that you can learn and gain from besides making rational sense.
David Alan good luck with that and let me know how that works out for you. If you think that GM gives a sh*t about your comments and input, then your living in a dream world along with C8 and C2. I’ll try to keep making rational sense of the real world and yes I know I’ll need luck with that, but it beats having your head in the clouds! Sorry for the late entry, I had sh*t to do.
Those of you who are old enough (like me) to remember the 60’s-70’s when it was illegal to use a TV set in the front seat of an automobile, do you also wonder why now they have interactive screens in front of the driver as big as a beer case and wonder why driver’s might be distracted?
It is soo sad that everyone has to politicize everything that happens. The way democracy is supposed to operate is compromise, but that is a word which seeningly no longer exists
‘TELEPHONE’ use in cars MUST stop! There can be no place for drivers of any vehicle using even ‘hands free’ phones while driving. In aviation the saying is ‘Aviate, Navigate and then ONLY if possible Communicate’
Driving a vehicle at even low speeds of say 25 MPH demands the drivers ‘FULL and COMPLETE’ attention. Phone use by any driver should be totally eliminated. This fact will continue to be a major cause of accidents and resulting deaths.
Simple as that.
‘Ok boomer’. People don’t talk on the phone anymore, car or not. They text. Creating an even bigger problem.
Even airplane pilots now text ATC. (CPDLC and ACARS)
A little misleading to compare driving an auto on public roads to flying an airliner. Most of the time air traffic control is responsible for separation. All air traffic above 18,000 feet is under “positive control” by controllers. Sending messages, requests, and receiving clearances via text vastly reduces the chances of misunderstandings.
Driving in traffic is like flying in close formation. With perfect strangers. Without a preflight briefing or plan. No one flying with the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds is texting during formation flight.
Police refuse to enforce traffic laws. They only show up with the meat wagon to haul off the dead.
Lets go Brandon!
Lawless, emboldened, entitled scumbags who could care less about human and animal life and literally anything but themselves are to blame. They have been given carte blanche to run amok by the illegitimate apologist dictatorship currently holding vice-like power over this ever more deranged country.