AAA Study Suggests Dashboard Technology Contributes To Distracted Driving

On behalf of Lovett Law Firm posted in Car Accidents on Friday, June 14, 2013.

Our readers are aware of the growing number of technologies designed to make cars safer and more efficient. One such feature is dashboard technology that allows drivers to text and email with voice commands. The feature is being marketed as a safer alternative to using hand-held cell phones, but a recent AAA study actually suggests that the

According to the study, released Wednesday, talking on a hands-free phone is not a lot safer for drivers than speaking on a hand-held phone, and using a hands-free device to translate speech into text is the most distracting of all, because of the great amount of concentration it takes the average driver.

As a general principle, one is more distracted as a driver the more one is concentrating on any task other than driver. That’s obvious, but it isn’t necessary because drivers are taking their eyes off the road. It is more because they are keeping their eyes fixed in one spot, directly in front of them. Ironically, doing so makes them unable to see what is in front of them, or what is on the sides or in back of them. All of this, of course, creates a situation where a car accident is more likely to occur.

AAA officials, based on these findings, are saying they want automakers to limit in-vehicle, voice-driven technologies to “core driving tasks,” and is asking policymakers to reconsider the inclusion of communications and entertainment technology in vehicles since it may contribute to the problem of distracted driving.

Source: El Paso Inc., “Voice-operated dashboard technology still risky,” June 12, 2013.