'Inattention Blindness' Can Be Caused by In-Car Systems
20 Oct 2011
Research among international car users sponsored by headset maker Jabra seems to provide somewhat self-serving results. Nearly a quarter of respondents still don't wear a headset while making in-car phone calls. 28% have admitted to texting while driving. Another 25% admitted to hair styling or changing clothes behind the wheel, while 15% owned up to some kind of road-bound nookie.
The company has framed the results in the form of a broader safe-driving campaign. The research rightly points out that up to a quarter of road accidents are caused by some form of driver distraction.
No Hands-free advantages
When making an in-vehicle phone call, there is no safety advantage to using a hands-free device, according to research from the University of Utah's Applied Cognition Lab. The odds of getting into a crash result can be up to four times higher. According to Professor David Strayer, "inattention blindness explains why motorists can fail to see something right in front of them - like a stop light turning green - because they are distracted by the conversation." Many campaigning groups in the US suggest banning in-car mobile phone use altogether, which would be disastrous for the industry.
"The car is no longer a communications dead zone that prohibits drivers from staying connected to friends and family via various options such as calling, texting and even tweeting and Facebooking," says Anna Buettner, an automotive research analyst at iSupply. "With the expanding array of communications options, many drivers are willing to take the risk of an accident simply because they want to read or reply to a text message or check and update their preferred social media site."
To curb distraction
iSuppy's solution has more voice commands to reduce distraction. „Automotive OEMs, suppliers and app developers are realising that calling, texting and even social networking are part [...] of everyday driving for an increasing number of motorists," says Buettner. "With the proliferation of smart phones, the trend seems irreversible. As with the take-off of Bluetooth for hands-free calling and mobile device integration, there are ways to curb such distractions and voice-recognition control may be the key for automotive applications. Finding and implementing a way to safely integrate social networking and other apps in the car is more feasible than fighting the trend," she says.
Ford Sync has set the standard for voice activated in-vehicle communication systems. Drivers can access apps within the car through voice commands and steering-wheel controls, while keeping their hands on the wheel. GM's OnStar is about to launch an upgrade that links vehicles to Facebook and translates text messages to voice and the other way around.
Researchers, again at the University of Utah, suggest that navigation can be more safely relayed to drivers through tactile messages to their fingertips rather than audio commands ("haptic messaging")