Are new Jeep shifters too complicated or are people too stupid?

[Canberra Jeeper]

As sad as it is that Anton died, this seems to be a pure and simple case of operator error. We shouldn't be blaming the car for this. The Jeep's transmission selector clearly indicates whether the transmission is in Park or not, and all the driver needs to do is look at the selector to determine that the transmission is actually in Park. And relying on the feel from previous vehicles is a dangerous practice, particularly as technology continues to evolve at a faster and faster rate. However, as another contributor to this thread has said, who gets out of their car without applying the park brake? Before exiting your vehicle at any time you should always check to ensure the transmission is in Park and the park brake has been applied. Basic driving skills 101.

[Wazza D]

You know, the greatest technological advancement in the automotive industry, which reduced the number of people run over by their own car, was the development of the starter motor and the gradual phasing out of the crank handle.
Nothing like jerking on the crank handle in front of the jelopy, and while still off balance from the action, discovering that you have just fired it up.......in gear!

[Banshee]

I have a manual and have never seen one of these, but from an engineering point of view my question is: If you push the lever forward & let go, is the spring to the centre strong enough for it to bounce past & go back one position? This would mean you know you just put it into park, but it bounces back into reverse. Yes, you didn't look and wait to verify, but you KNOW you were in reverse & pushed it into park, so should be able to expect it to STAY there. Of course, this might not be the case.

I have seen plenty of things where that happens if you let go at the maximum point of deflection.

[snowing]

I think the problem is not what is in the car or any car. No matter how much "beeps" and "noise" it make to warn whoever the owner is, there will be stupid people who just ignore everything. There are real drivers out there and there are "drivers" as well.
May be they should have the feature as my wife's Mini. You can't pull out your key unless you are in Park. lol

[SeaComms]

That could work, the key bit, except many are keyless pushbuttons now.

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[Tyvokka]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nhtsa-in...rand-cherokee/

[Redemptioner]

Originally Posted by snowing

May be they should have the feature as my wife's Mini. You can't pull out your key unless you are in Park. lol

Umm would not have helped in this case, the car was still running when they found him.

It is 85% stupid people at fault and 15% about the way they are taught to drive. In Australia we get taught to put handbrake on first, then take out of gear or put into park, turn off engine, wait for engine to stop then remove key, put into gear or make sure in park, then make sure handbrake is on, release foot from brake and clutch, open door.

The key thing here is the first thing you do is make sure the handbrake is on, then disengage the car from being able to give drive to the wheels then go back and make sure handbrake is on in case you failed on the first step. If you get out of a car without the handbrake on (the part that is there to stop idiots letting their cars roll down slopes after they get out of them) then you should not be allowed to drive a car. It also shows no matter what you do as far as the gear lever goes it makes no difference if the person driving can't do the number one step when it comes to exiting/parking a car.