BMW is testing in-car food ordering with food delivery app Olo. Olo makes online ordering software for restaurants. The test will allow people to order food through the infotainment systems in their vehicles. The plan is that car owners will pre-configure (before they start driving) their infotainment dashboards to transmit food orders while driving. BMW says that vehicles made since 2015 have this capability.
Two years ago, General Motors introduced the GM Marketplace. The goal was to allow owners of GM vehicles to press a button and order items from Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Wingstop and other restaurants. GM also indicated that people could order coffee, make reservations, or shop while driving.
Carmakers and researchers have determined that the average American spends 46 minutes per day driving. A GM vice president opined, “we have an opportunity to make every trip more productive and give our customers time back.” Another reason for this interest is that most retailers and brands know that the moments of one’s daily commute are the only time they do not have access to a consumer.
What could be better?
Distracted Driving
It seems disconcerting to talk about the things that drivers can do in their vehicles while driving. Does it make sense to give drivers the option of shopping or ordering food while driving? After all, phones, texting, even conversations with passengers in a vehicle contribute to distracted driving.
Distracted driving is now the most common cause of auto accidents. Distraction can contribute to a tragic accident in mere seconds. Look at the numbers: driving at 65 mph, you are traveling at the rate of 95.333 feet per second.
Convert 65 Miles per Hour to Feet per Second (NHTSA)
Mph Fps
65.00 95.333
65.01 95.348
65.02 95.363
65.03 95,377
If you are driving at 65 mph, you are covering 95.333 feet per second. If you take your eyes off the road for 3 seconds to push buttons on your dashboard, you have traveled 285.999 feet.
Calculate Stopping Distance
Speed Thinking Distance 2 Braking Distance
40 mph 40 feet 80 feet
50 mph 50 feet 125 feet
60 mph 60 feet 180 feet
70 mph 70 feet 245 feet
If you take your eyes off the road for 5 seconds to order coffee for everyone in the vehicle, you will have traveled almost the length of a football field before you look at the road again. Does it really make sense to put into a vehicle and positioned for use by the driver the device that permits ordering food or shopping while driving? Is in-car food ordering worth the risk of distracting the driver?
Call Altizer Law, P.C.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto or vehicle accident through no fault of your own, call Altizer Law, P.C., in Roanoke, VA. Considered one of the city’s top auto accident attorneys, Bettina Altizer has been helping injured people for more than 30 years by fighting for just and fair financial compensation for their hurts and harms. She and her expert team understand what is involved in moving on after an accident and an injury. They know it’s about the money.
