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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.
The study released Thursday is the latest by University of Utah professor David Strayer, who has been examining the impact of infotainment systems on safety for AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety since 2013. Past studies also identified problems, but Mr. Strayer said the "explosion of technology" has made things worse.
Automakers now include more infotainment options to allow drivers to use social media, email, and text. The technology is also becoming more complicated to use. Cars used to have a few buttons and knobs. Some vehicles now have as many as 50 buttons on the steering wheel and dashboard that are multi-functional. There are touch screens, voice commands, writing pads, heads-up displays on windshields and mirrors and 3-D computer-generated images.
"It's adding more and more layers of complexity and information at drivers' fingertips without often considering whether it's a good idea to put it at their fingertips," Strayer said.
Safe following distance would solve so much...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 29 2017, @12:12PM
Even HUDs are still distracting, https://arstechnica.com/cars/2015/07/heads-up-displays-in-cars-can-hinder-driver-safety/ [arstechnica.com]
This spring got a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan (family of six) with the forward collision detection and automatic braking package. Statistically speaking, vehicles with technology like that are in substantially fewer crashes. ( http://www.iihs.org/iihs/sr/statusreport/article/51/1/1 [iihs.org] ) On top of that, the Pacifica aces every single IIHS and NHTSA crash test except rollover resistance (impossible for any combustion engine minivan to ace because the center of gravity is too high). Only the 2016+ Kia Sedona and 2014+ Honda Odyssey minivans do as well as the 2017 Pacifica in crash tests, and when we bought the Pacifica neither of those vans offered forward collision detection with automatic braking. The 2018 Honda Odyssey just came out and offers the same package.
But the touch screen center console is a disaster. Too many menus, too many options. You have to select every option you might possibly need while parked, because even the damn automatic braking package won't save you if you're stupid enough to fiddle with settings while the car is moving. I don't regret buying the thing, but there has to be a better way to manage all the features on a modern car. On the bright side, the stereo controls are on the steering wheel so I can change radio stations and adjust the volume without taking my eyes off the road.