Behind the Wheel, Not All Distractions Are Equal
13 years ago

Behind the Wheel, Not All Distractions Are Equal

Wired  

As carmakers and lawmakers draw up plans for combating distracted driving, new research from MIT shows that drivers can lose focus even with their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel. Even when drivers completed a task as simple as repeating back a single digit number, the researchers detected a marked increase in "gaze concentration" -- when drivers stare ahead with tunnel vision instead of scanning the road for potential hazards. Not only does it show that voice-operated infotainment systems and hands-free phones may not be the fix that automakers and policymakers have hoped for, but it also opens the door for more studies that may find better ways to manage distractions behind the wheel. Voice Control Back in December, the National Transportation Safety Board called for an all-out ban on cellphone use among drivers, drawing complaints from industry and consumers alike that such a prohibition would be impossible to enforce and not entirely necessary.

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History of this topic

Car makers told to ditch distracting touchscreens: Safety body will penalise models that don't have simple button controls
1 year ago

Car makers told to ditch distracting touchscreens: Safety body will penalise models that don't have simple button controls

Daily Mail  

New safety tests due to arrive in 2026 will put fresh pressure on car makers to dial back confusing touchscreen systems that can be distracting for drivers to use on the move. Auto makers are being told to dial back confusing touchscreens systems as EuroNCAP prepares to introduce rules that penalise models that don't have simple button controls For years, …

600,000 drivers one touch of phone from a ban
1 year, 5 months ago

600,000 drivers one touch of phone from a ban

The Telegraph  

The number of drivers with six and nine points on their licence was 6 per cent and 8 per cent higher than a year earlier, respectively. A loophole allowing drivers to escape punishment for hand-held phone use if they were taking a photograph or playing a game was closed by new legislation in March last year. ‘Distraction’ Nicholas Lyes, IAM …

‘We are killing people’: How technology has made your car ‘a candy store of distraction’
2 years, 8 months ago

‘We are killing people’: How technology has made your car ‘a candy store of distraction’

LA Times  

In the late 1980s, the U.S. Army turned to outside experts to study how pilots of Apache attack helicopters were responding to the torrent of information streaming into the cockpit on digital screens and analog displays. “We are instrumenting the car in a way that is overloading the driver just like we were overloading the helicopter pilots,” said Strayer, director …

Driver caught distracted behind wheel nine times in four years
3 years, 2 months ago

Driver caught distracted behind wheel nine times in four years

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A driver was caught distracted behind the wheel nine times …

Driver Assist Systems More Harmful Than Helpful While Driving: Study
4 years, 4 months ago

Driver Assist Systems More Harmful Than Helpful While Driving: Study

News 18  

As the automotive world leans more towards technology in its mechanicals and gets more advanced by the day. With a slew of safety features included in most cars nowadays to prevent crashes, however, a new study has revealed that drivers are more prone to end up in one with the increased use of driver-assist systems overriding your natural instincts. According …

Technology is better than ever — but thousands of Americans still die in car crashes every year
6 years, 10 months ago

Technology is better than ever — but thousands of Americans still die in car crashes every year

Salon  

Today, driving is arguably safer than ever been before. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called motor vehicle safety one of the top 10 U.S. public health achievements of the 20th century. Studies on distracted driving and cellphone use almost always find negative roadway outcomes, such as near-misses, crashes and delayed reaction times. Distracted driving laws To tackle the …

Crammed infotainment technology in vehicles is distracting automobile drivers: study
7 years, 5 months ago

Crammed infotainment technology in vehicles is distracting automobile drivers: study

Firstpost  

The infotainment technology that automakers are cramming into the dashboard of new vehicles is making drivers take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel for dangerously long periods of time, an AAA study says. But Jake Nelson, AAA’s director for traffic safety advocacy and research, said drivers testing all 30 of the 2017 model year cars and …

About 60% admit taking their eyes off the wheel while driving
7 years, 8 months ago

About 60% admit taking their eyes off the wheel while driving

China Daily  

Some 60 percent of drivers in China have experienced distraction while driving, with their mobile phone the biggest culprit, according to a survey by Ford Motor Company and Tsinghua University. About 33 percent of people without children said they were involved in an accident or had a near miss because of distracted driving, while the figure rose to 39 percent …

US Transportation Department issues guidelines for in-car systems to reduce distractions for drivers
8 years, 4 months ago

US Transportation Department issues guidelines for in-car systems to reduce distractions for drivers

Firstpost  

The U.S. Transportation Department on Wednesday issued voluntary guidelines for makers of mobile devices, asking them to help keep eyes on the road by developing a “driver mode” that would disable some distracting functions in moving cars. “These common sense guidelines, grounded in the best research available, will help designers of mobile devices build products that cut down on distraction …

Experts Say Texting Is Worse Than All Other Driving Distractions
8 years, 10 months ago

Experts Say Texting Is Worse Than All Other Driving Distractions

Huff Post  

Elenathewise via Getty Images Texting while driving may pose a unique risk compared to other forms of distracted driving, according to an experiment recently published in the journal Scientific Reports. The U.S. government calls texting while driving “by far the most alarming distraction," and some research argues that drivers who text are just as impaired as people who drive while …

Voice commands while driving still distracting and risky, AAA study says
9 years, 5 months ago

Voice commands while driving still distracting and risky, AAA study says

LA Times  

Drivers who use hands-free commands remain distracted for up to 27 seconds after they have made a call or changed music, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Working with researchers at the University of Utah, the auto club’s safety branch found that this lingering distraction raises new concerns for using phones and vehicle infotainment systems. “The results indicate …

Americans More Distracted Behind The Wheel Than Europeans
12 years ago

Americans More Distracted Behind The Wheel Than Europeans

NPR  

Americans More Distracted Behind The Wheel Than Europeans Enlarge this image toggle caption Damian Dovarganes/AP Damian Dovarganes/AP U.S. drivers are much more likely than Europeans to drive while distracted, federal health officials report Thursday. Sponsor Message Health officials say that's a big problem because driving while distracted causes fatal car accidents. "The cell phone can be a fatal distraction for …

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