Voice-Activated Systems Affect Drivers’ Attention For Up To 27 Seconds
A new survey indicates there is no substitute for keeping your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road while driving.
University of Utah psychology professor David Strayer — who as a psychologist should already know people are dangerous even just going to the bathroom — conducted research into effects of mental distractions on the human ability to drive safely.
“The voice command thing in cars seems to be gaining ground. People talk to their cars and their phones while driving. It’s scary.” Said David Strayer. It works something like this. Your average salesman or contractor will be driving on a Highway when, without taking his hands off the steering wheel, will say, “Call Jane at home.”
This sounds perfectly safe, but the truth is that it’s much more distracting than the average tech freak might think.
Let’s suppose you’re in a car traveling 25 mph. How far will the vehicle travel before the driver regains his full attention to the task of driving after being momentarily distracted by hands-free voice command control?
Answer: Approximately the length of three football fields – maybe – on a clear day providing your vehicle is in 100% tip-top-shape!
The studies found: Voice-activated systems affect drivers’ attention for up to 27 seconds. Our point and the study discovered: No system was found to be less than moderately distracting which is pretty high and risky.