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New NHTSA Report Studies Conflict Between Driving and Technology

6 September 2000

Attention: Driver Distractions are Dangerous!

       New NHTSA Report Studies Conflict Between Driving and Technology

    SPRINGFIELD, Va., Sept. 6 Recent trends show that the
future of in-vehicle technologies will evolve into products that fully
integrate telecommunications and route guidance systems. But are they safe to
use while driving? The studies and analyses described in Driver Distraction
with Wireless Telecommunications and Route Guidance Systems provide a better
understanding of the complex relationship between drivers and these new
technologies.
    Many issues arise in considering motor vehicle driver use of wireless
telecommunications and route guidance systems. It is well known that, given
extensive practice, humans can develop high levels of dual-task performance.
For example, it is such extensive practice that allows a professional musician
to listen to a request while concurrently playing a piece. But in an
automotive safety context, one must survive long enough to complete this level
of practice. Performance failures on the primary driving task are the crux of
highway safety concerns.
    The following objectives were selected for the studies described in Driver
Distraction with Wireless Telecommunications and Route Guidance Systems:

    *  Characterize the impact of route guidance system destination entry on
       vehicle control and driver eye glance behavior on a test tract

    *  Assess the influence of individual differences on the susceptibility to
       distraction indicated by disruption in vehicle control and driver eye
       glance behavior while using in-vehicle tech while driving

    *  Examine the validity of the proposed 15-second rule to assess whether
       or not a given route guidance entry task ought to be allowed while the
       vehicle is in motion