Considering the fact that most drivers have access to a smartphone, especially while driving, studies crop up from time to time to indicate just how distracted drivers are.
Last year, around this time, a study appeared that labeled Siri at the top of the distracted driver category, saying the digital personal assistant can lend to the highest level of distraction while driving. For its part Apple responded to the test, saying that the study didn’t use an updated version of Siri, and that is why the findings went the way they did.
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has put together another study, this time aiming not just at Siri, but at other voice-activated system as well like Google Now, to determine if they cause potentially unsafe mental distractions while driving. According to the findings, these systems do create potentially unsafe distractions, which can last to several seconds.
The test has a scoring system up to 5.0. According to the results, Google Now scored the lowest at 3.0 when it comes to level of distraction, while Siri was in the middle of the pack with a result of 3.4. At the top, though, and according to the study the most distracting, is Microsoft’s own digital personal assistant, Cortana, which received a score of 3.8.
According to the foundation, the mental distraction that drivers can face could last up to 27 seconds, almost half a minute, as the driver readjusts to the task of driving after using a hands-free or voice-activated system.
“The lasting effects of mental distraction pose a hidden and pervasive danger that would likely come as a surprise to most drivers,” said Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. “The results indicate that motorists could miss stop signs, pedestrians and other vehicles while the mind is readjusting to the task of driving.”Researchers found that potentially unsafe levels of mental distraction can last for as long as 27 seconds after completing a distracting task in the worst-performing systems studied. At the 25 MPH speed limit in the study, drivers traveled the length of nearly three football fields during this time. When using the least distracting systems, drivers remained impaired for more than 15 seconds after completing a task.”
For good measure, here are the five categories that the foundation uses during its study:
- Category 1: About the same as listening to the radio or an audio book
- Category 2: About the same as talking on the phone
- Category 3: Equivalent to sending voice-activated texts on an error-free system
- Category 4: About the same as uploading social media
- Category 5: Highly challenging, scientific test designed to overload a driver’s attention
An interesting thing to note, here, is the fact that the foundation, once again, didn’t use updated technology. Specifically, despite the fact that Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are available to consumers, the study did not use them.
Do you use any hands-free or voice-activated systems while you’re driving?
No comments:
Post a Comment