Driving Distractions and Dangers

Most new vehicles have advanced technology features. While that's convenient, there is a downside.

A new report suggests that security bugs were found in 16 vehicle brands including Acura, BMW, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls Royce, and Toyota. The vulnerabilities, researchers said, could allow a hacker to start, unlock, and track those cars from point to point.

The vulnerabilities can run even deeper, Sam Curry, a web application security researcher, writes. This includes giving a hacker the ability to dig into a vehicle’s API (Application Programming Interface), and create all sorts of havoc. With the right amount of technical savvy, a hacker could completely take over a vehicle owner’s account, allowing them to modify or delete all sorts of personal information. 

Consumers who own those cars and also have SiriusXM installed run an additional risk of having their personal information accessed.

What vehicles are affected and to what extent

The vehicles impacted and some of the problems that Curry said were possible include:

Acura, Honda, Genesis, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia, Honda, Nissan, 

• Remotely lock and unlock the vehicle, start and stop the engine, precisely locate the vehicle, flash the headlights, honk the horn, and open the trunk.

• Fully take over the owner’s account and access personally identifiable information (PII) including name, phone number, email address, physical address.

• Locks users out of remotely managing their vehicle and changing the ownership of the vehicle.

For Kias specifically, Curry said his team could remotely access the 360-view camera and view live images from the car.

As for Acuras and Hondas, any associated problems have been fixed according to the company.

“Honda is aware of a reported vulnerability involving SiriusXM connected vehicle services provided to multiple automotive brands, which, according to SiriusXM, was resolved quickly after they learned of it," a spokesperson for the company told ConsumerAffairs.

"Honda has seen no indications of any malicious use of this now-resolved vulnerability to access connected vehicle services in Honda or Acura vehicles.”

Ferrari

• Fully take over a Ferrari customer’s account, including access to all customer records

Ford

• Allows access to a customer’s PII as well as the potential to track and execute commands on vehicles

Porsche

• Ability to send and retrieve the geo-location of the vehicle, send vehicle commands, and retrieve customer information via vulnerabilities affecting the vehicle Telematics service

Toyota

• Access to Toyota Financial data that could contain the name, phone number, email address, and loan status of any Toyota financial customer

Jaguar, Land Rover

• Possible access to user account information including name, phone number, physical address, and geo-location of the vehicle. 

All vulnerabilities appear to have been fixed

Curry told SecurityWeek that all of the automakers whose vehicles were affected had patched the vulnerabilities. However, owners of those vehicles should double-check with their dealer to make sure their systems have been updated to prevent threats like these.

“Software updates for your car are typically free. This applies if they correct an issue covered by warranty, fix problems with emissions systems or safety recalls,” CarVoice’s Christopher said.

“If your vehicle lacks [automatic “over-the-air”] update capabilities, you will need to take it to your local dealership. The process of installing software updates on your car is simple and straightforward. It’s included in the warranty, so you shouldn’t have to pay anything extra for it.”

We have further proof that nearly anything can be hacked. A teenager boasted this week that he had hacked 25 Tesla cars around the world and gained remote access without their owners ever knowing.

David Columbo, the 19-year-old self-proclaimed IT security specialist and hacker, announced his gambit via a Twitter thread Monday and Tuesday. He said he’s keeping mum on how he pulled off his coup until he reports the vulnerability to the non-profit Mitre, a federally funded research and development non-profit that tackles safety and stability challenges. However, Columbo did say it was due to errors on the owners’ part, not a security flaw in Tesla’s software.

Tesla’s security team told Columbo they’re looking into the situation.

The ripple effect

With his newfound power, Columbo said he could do everything from identifying the exact location of each car to disabling the vehicle’s security system, opening its doors and windows, and even playing music and YouTube videos. The only thing Columbo couldn’t apparently do was remotely drive the cars, but by knowing where the cars were located, he could theoretically steal them if he wanted to. 

Columbo’s escapade may have only directly affected 25 Tesla vehicles, but the ripple effect was actually much larger – especially for those vehicles' owners. “So, I now have full remote control of over 20 Teslas in 10 countries and there seems to be no way to find the owners and report it to them,” Columbo said.

The next ripple came from TezLab, an app that gives Tesla owners “quick controls, stats and everything charging.” The app maker reported that as the hack’s effect spread, it saw the simultaneous expiration of up to a million Tesla authentication tokens. TezLab members were told that they would need to sign in again to re-establish the connection to their vehicles. 

“We apologize for any inconvenience,” the company tweeted – a comment that Columbo mimicked in his own response.

A new study explored the trends behind fatal drunk driving accidents across the U.S, specifically when it comes to blood alcohol concentration (BAC). 

According to the team of researchers, the drivers in 15 percent of all fatal crashes tested for a BAC under the legal limit, which is 0.08. In more than half of these cases, the passengers were at a greater risk of death than the drivers. 

“Our study challenges the popular misconception that alcohol-involved crashes primarily affect drinking drivers, or that BACs below the legal limit don’t matter,” said researcher Dr. Timothy S. Naimi. 

Staying off the road

The researchers evaluated data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, spanning 16 years worth of alcohol-induced crashes. In that time, there were over 600,000 drunk driving fatalities. 

The researchers learned that drivers in nearly 40 percent of those crashes had alcohol in their systems, though 15 percent were technically under the legal alcohol limit. 

These findings highlight the danger associated with driving with any alcohol in a consumer’s system, particularly for young people. The study found that in cases where drivers were still under the legal limit, fatalities were most common among young passengers. The researchers explained that a BAC as low as 0.03 can make it risky for consumers to get behind the wheel. 

Moving forward, the team is looking to policymakers to tighten up restrictions around alcohol in the hopes of reducing the number of crashes and fatalities. While some states have lowered the legal limit from 0.08 to 0.05, they also suggested raising alcohol taxes and making alcohol harder to come by in convenience stores. 

“Lower alcohol crashes have been underestimated as a public health problem,” said Dr. Naimi. “Our research suggests that stringent alcohol policies reduce the likelihood of fatal accidents involving drivers with all levels of alcohol blood concentration.” 

Since the advent of the automobile, generations of teenagers couldn’t wait to get their driver’s license. A license to drive meant freedom and the open road.

But these days, mobility doesn’t seem quite as enticing. A few years ago, Brandon Schoettle of General Motors developed a questionnaire for teens who were old enough to drive but who did not have a driver’s license. Schoettle wanted to know why.

The top eight reasons given for not having a driver’s license were:

1. Too busy or not enough time to get a driver's license

2. Owning and maintaining a vehicle is too expensive

3. Able to get transportation from others

4. Prefer to bike or walk

5. Prefer to use public transportation

6. Concerned about how driving impacts the environment

7. Able to communicate and/or conduct business online instead

8. Disability/medical/vision problems

22 percent plan to never drive

Twenty-two percent of the respondents went so far as to say they planned to never obtain a driver’s license. About 69 percent said they would get a license eventually.

When compared to their peers of the same age, those without a driver’s license tended to be less educated and more unemployed. That could suggest economics is a factor in their decision and put strong emphasis on answer number two.

Whether or not money is the main factor, the answers tend to suggest that driving simply isn’t a big deal for today’s teenagers and even young adults. But economics can’t be overlooked.

The Wall Street Journal points to the rising cost of both new and used vehicles. Earlier this year the average transaction price of a new car surpassed $37,000. Both Ford and GM have eliminated or cut back on the small sedans they produce, pouring their efforts instead into trucks and SUVs, which have a higher profit margin.

Driving classes getting older

Brent Wall, who operates a driving school in Michigan, told The Journal that the kids in his classes are older than they were a decade ago. Some had to be pushed by their parents to learn to drive a car.

One possible reason the researchers haven’t advanced is that the road is a much scarier place than it was 10 or 20 years ago. There is more traffic moving at faster rates of speed.

When researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's (CHOP) Center for Injury Research and Prevention and the University of Pennsylvania set up a driving simulator with real-world hazardous driving scenarios, young drivers didn’t do so well.

During the 35-minute simulation, which incorporated 22 variations of the most common ways teen drivers crash, nearly 43 percent of teen drivers who had their licenses three months or less recorded at least one crash in the simulator.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and as usual, parents are being urged to admonish their teenage drivers about the dangers of texting behind the wheel.

But this year there’s a new twist. Teens are being urged to have a distracted driving talk with their parents since research shows a growing number of adults are doing the very thing they tell their children not to do.

Research done at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing shows that one in three parents read text messages and one in seven use social media while driving their young children.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports more than 1,000 injuries a day in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.

Catalysts for change

Honda is among major corporations getting behind the campaign to flip the script when it comes to distracted driving.

"By making children and teens the catalysts for change, Honda's distracted driving campaign takes a nontraditional approach in parent-child dynamics to capture true human emotion and encourage safer driving," said Jessica Fini, social media manager at American Honda Motor. "For the past six years, we have used our social media platforms to promote safer driving during National Distracted Driving Awareness month, and we hope having the text talk will inspire a crucial conversation between teens and parents beyond the month of April."

Other corporations -- especially those that involve either driving or texting -- are getting behind the campaign to enlist children to help their parents be more attentive drivers. Currently, AT&T is airing the commercial below.

Family talk

The Honda campaign features a video in which teens talk about their parents’ driving habits, then sit down with their parents to discuss their concerns. The families in the video then sign a pledge not to text or look at their mobile devices while driving.

While the CHOP study shows a growing number of adults are distracted by their phones while driving, teens may not be in any position to lecture their parents. A 2018 study led by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that nearly two in five teen drivers text while driving.

Of the 35 states assessed in the study, South Dakota had the highest rate of teen texting and driving, with 64 percent of high school students admitting that they had engaged in the risky driving behavior at least once in the month prior to the survey.