Texting while riding

[snakebitten]

So while I have personally taken a strong stance against texting while driving amongst my family, I feel like a hypocrite that now I receive and send texts easier from a motorcycle than I could in a cage.

Bought a dual pack of Sena SMH10's a couple of years ago. Never got around to getting them setup properly for 2-up use. But with the upcoming Xcountry ride, I thought I would see what they do and if it was actually something we would use.

Decided to pair my Nokia Lumia 920 to my Sena this morning and checkout the bluetooth audio. Worked like a charm.

Then on the commute home I noticed they paired automatically in seconds. So I resumed the tunes coming home.

And then it happened. I thought I heard my cell phone tone for incoming text in the background of the song. Immediately the music muted and a female voice says into my earbuds, "Text message from Brenda. Say read to hear message. Say I'm done if you are done"

Well, I had to say "Read"

The lady then said "hey babe, headin home. How about you?"

Then the lady said "say reply to reply"

I did. Then I said "Listening to Annie Lennox singing no more I love yous. At 35 and Dixie Farm"

There was a pause, then the lady repeated what I said! She then asked if I wanted to "add more" or "send"

It was effortless. my Hands never left the controls. I never took my concentration off the road. I received and sent a text?

My wife never put 2 & 2 together. But I caught up to her a couple of miles before home. She saw me in the mirror. I hit the phone button on the Sena. I heard a tone. I said Text Brenda. Perfect guess. She said "texting Brenda, please state your message". I sent "Slow down"

Shoulda seen the look on her face when I went by.

 

[SuperCal]

I have the Sena smh-5 and a Nokia 920. I love the combo, and have had similar experiences of silliness with mine too... Lol

 

[snakebitten]

It woulda been different if I had read that it was a feature. Or if there were instructions for it. Or if I actually wanted to do it.

But for it to be so seamless that it just happens and then assists you in accomplishing it, ........

All this past 24 months I have stopped while on the road to see if I had received work related text over the last 100 miles.
Now I can hear them and know that there is no reason to stop! Or even reply!

What a world we live in.

By the way, that 920 is a sic phone, ain't it? I was handed one to test for corporate around Christmas time. Slipped my Sim in it and never gave it back.

 

[tpak]

Love my Sena set - I didn't think I would like listening to music while I rode but now I can't live without. I updated the firmware on one of the pair recently and am having some audio droput issues so might roll it back to see if it fixes it. But how cool that you can mess with that too!

 

[markjenn]

The technology is getting pretty darn good and I use my bluetooth setup in the car occasionally. But the fact remains that one is not paying as much attention to driving when you're talking or texting, hands-free or not. Some studies show it is about as dangerous as drunk driving. So technology that gives us yet another way to be distracted is not a plus in my view.

- Mark

 

[NickBrewer3]

Actually, I think that is a feature of Windows Phone 8, my Nokia Lumia 920 does the same thing through my Bluetooth Handsfree unit in my Truck...

 

[snakebitten]

Actually, I think that is a feature of Windows Phone 8, my Nokia Lumia 920 does the same thing through my Bluetooth Handsfree unit in my Truck...

I suspect you are right. It just means the Sena and Lumia are a really nice package.

I updated the firmware on mine last night too (2 years of updates while they sat in the box) Haven't had an issue yet, but will report if I do.

And finally, I do agree that this new technology, regardless of hands free, can be a hindrance to driver awareness. But comparing it to drunk driving is a stretch. I'm just not buying it. And with a conscious effort to stay focused, it seems like you can keep the distraction to a minimum.

Daydreaming can kill you without any earbuds or cell phones, or gps, or other rider assist technology. Staying focused is a discipline. Racers stay focused while glancing at the pit boards at 200mph. In race cars they constantly communicate on radio. I don't mean to imply that every rider is good at multitasking. They aren't. Some humans just suck at it. But riding safely is all about processing multiple data streams simultaneously. It can be done. It's a learned skill. Each rider has to decide if they have noise in the stream.

However, I probably agree with the overall premise that the we are safer with less clutter.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Actually, I think that is a feature of Windows Phone 8, my Nokia Lumia 920 does the same thing through my Bluetooth Handsfree unit in my Truck...

All the phones can do it now, regardless of being iPhone, Windows, or Android.


The studies are pretty conclusive about the distraction level equivalency to being drunk.
But then you don't think you are distracted when lightly drunk either & the post-accident research is pretty clear on those hazards.

 

[jasonc32amg]

That's pretty cool but not for me. Riding is my last sanctuary.

 

[klunsford]

I listen to music all of the time on my motorcycle. I take calls and enjoy conversations just as if I was in my cage with my wife. You realize you might be a little distracted when you can sing with the radio, listen to your city police radio, police scanner for the state and other municipalities and can understand what it going on with each of them... All the while, driving at high speeds to a injury accident or emergency call. Be safe... but it really is a learned thing. Everyone processes information differently. Some can learn it, some can't. In anything you do, be safe and ride within your limits.

 

[10 ER AY]

Tasks for today...

1-Go straight home and try this on my Sena.
2-Squeal like a girl if it works.



I had no idea that was even possible and I've had my SMH10 for over a year. It never gave me the option but I was running an HTC Evo. Just upgraded to an HTC One yesterday. Hopefully it works.

 

[CDMartin884]

That's pretty cool but not for me. Riding is my last sanctuary.

::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026:: ::026::

 

[snakebitten]

It would be nice if I had the option of being off the grid when I am on an adventure. But it's not.

The only way I get to even call it a "day off", much less a vacation, is if I take the desktop with me. Period. No way around it.

While I have the freedom to be anywhere in the world if I want, I never get to turn it off. Ever.

Adventure riding is still my sanctuary though. And the miracles of this technology IS my key to get out of the office.

 

[klunsford]

It would be nice if I had the option of being off the grid when I am on an adventure. But it's not.

The only way I get to even call it a "day off", much less a vacation, is if I take the desktop with me. Period. No way around it.

While I have the freedom to be anywhere in the world if I want, I never get to turn it off. Ever.

Adventure riding is still my sanctuary though. And the miracles of this technology IS my key to get out of the office.

::026:: I hear ya there Snake

 

[offcamber]

I have Sena as well but my Samsung Galaxy S3 doesn't do that...

I do have an app that will read the text but can't reply....

 

[Dirt_Dad]

That's pretty cool but not for me. Riding is my last sanctuary.

More or less... ::026::

I do have a Sena, and I do let the GPS call out navigation when I have a route plugged into it. And I will make or take very brief calls, but 99% of the time all I hear is wind noise in my helmet. I've tried listening to music, but it just makes me feel anxious for some reason. I always listen to something in a car, hate it on a bike.

Riding is my mental therapy, and I'm happiest when my therapist isn't saying anything to me.

 

[snakebitten]

Yea, to tell ya the truth, the music is kind of a recent novelty. I wouldn't miss that.

But finally getting my texts is liberating. All of my alerts and business notifications are text based. It's gonna be awesome not to have to stop to see if anything that needs my attention has come up. I just say "read it". And immediately I know if it requires my attention. That feature alone will have a huge impact on my riding pleasure.

And the intercom with my wife will be pretty cool too.

Heck, she has a Lumia 920 too. Be just as easy to send her a text sitting right behind me.

 

[creggur]

Love my Sena, and like you, Snake, I don't have the luxury of being disconnected. And I love listening to music while I ride - only time I turn it off is when it's raining - love hearing the pitter-patter on my helmet.

Funny thing is I was was wearing earbuds (not the modern ones, I disassembled my Walkman headset) so I could listen to Rush Chronicles 22 years ago while I was riding my Katana 600 (what a horrible bike). Every now and then Red Barchetta will cycle through the playlist and I'm a kid again for six minutes and six seconds.

 

[CDMartin884]

While I fully understand not being away from the phone or laptop for work, my years in Homicide, and now as a Regional Manager n my second career, sometimes you just have to turn it all off. As I once told my Commander after he irritatingly said, "We couldn't get a hold of you?" My response, " I am on Holiday, that's the point!"

 

[10 ER AY]

Nice... I used the Dragon app for my HTC One and it worked great. Took me a little while to figure out I had to have it in "automobile mode" but once I had it set up right it worked flawlessly.

To me, texting is a bit of an escape. I can write back when/if I want to. I'm not stuck on the phone listening to someone gossip about some bologna that I couldn't care less about.