A golden rule of safe driving asserts to avoid using your smartphone when behind the wheel — hence the recent spate of new traffic regulations and resulting enforcement.
The rules paved the way for inventions like the Bluetooth earpiece and voice-activated car systems. While these technologies have transformed the way drivers communicate, they can still make some more prone to accidents. A recent study reveals voice-activated car systems that car makers so dearly promote as a “smarter way to interact” are turning out to be a major cause of distraction while on the road.
As we’ve covered many times on ExtremeTech, voice-activated car systems let drivers interact with the car and their smartphones using voice commands instead of their hands. No matter how easy the systems are to use, though, it turns out they still take your mind off the road. Since voice-activated car systems tend to be pretty complex, they demand more mental work as a result.
Specifically, the American Automobile Association, which sponsored the study, says talking to these voice-activated car systems creates a surprisingly high mental workload for drivers — much more so than what’s normal when talking to, say, a passenger. Thanks to the complex commands required to operate the system, the driver’s attention on the road tends to slip while using them.