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If you think it is okay to talk to your car infotainment system or smartphone while driving or even when stopped at a red light, think again. It takes up to 27 seconds to regain full attention after issuing voice commands, University of Utah researchers found in a pair of new studies for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
One of the studies showed that it is highly distracting to use hands-free voice commands to dial phone numbers, call contacts, change music and send texts with Microsoft Cortana, Apple Siri and Google Now smartphone personal assistants, though Google Now was a bit less distracting than the others.
The other study examined voice-dialing, voice-contact calling and music selection using in-vehicle information or "infotainment" systems in 10 model-year 2015 vehicles. Three were rated as moderately distracting, six as highly distracting and the system in the 2015 Mazda 6 as very highly distracting.
"Just because these systems are in the car doesn't mean it's a good idea to use them while you are driving," says University of Utah psychology professor David Strayer, senior author of the two new studies. "They are very distracting, very error prone and very frustrating to use. Far too many people are dying because of distraction on the roadway, and putting another source of distraction at the fingertips of drivers is not a good idea. It's better not to use them when you are driving."
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 26 2015, @10:47PM
This! I'm a former motorcyclist who survived being hit by a woman who ran a stop sign while distracted. My situational awareness was outstanding compared to most drivers. It was literally a skill that I worked on constantly. But it didn't matter because I didn't see it coming until it was too late to react. These days I'm just a regular driver but I still use those same skills. Last year I put one of the kids through drivers ed but I used a private company rather than the school. She did very well and scored high on the tests but I felt she still wasn't as road aware as she needed to be. We talked about it a lot and I ended up teaching her how to think like a rider. This past summer I had her study and prepare for her motorcycle endorsement as if she were going to pursue it, just to give her a different perspective. The results were incredible. She is now extremely aware of road conditions and other drivers. Her ability to scan for risks has made her a much better driver. Motorcycle safety training should be part of every drivers ed course. Period.