The in-screen touchscreens, instead of helping the drivers, are becoming more of a problem. New legislation might be on the way, which will focus on the danger of drivers being distracted by it. Many countries are troubled by the fact that road accidents and deaths are rising instead of falling, and they want to deal with the reasons.
At the moment, there is not much regulation related to the design of infotainment systems. This is why, legislators and experts are worried manufacturers no longer care about the distractions factor like they should, as they continue to add more functions. The reaction time was even more so than texting or driving under the influence of alcohol.
According to Neale Kinnear, head of behavioral science at TRL, the result was shocking and an eye-opener. He said they expected the distraction levels to be high, but the time drivers took for certain events, and took their eyes off the road, was not what they expected.
Furthermore, he told us that he was surprised by the results. He also said that actions such as choosing a music track can take up to 20 seconds. But, they don’t know yet how to understand its impact on safety. But, the governments are trying to find this out, at least that’s what the signs tell. The experts were asked to consult on the Roads Policing Review by the UK’s Department for Transport. This review has been established, so it can be discovered why road accidents and death have increased.
The departments are considering the role of the infotainment system in this, and they are deciding whether they can blame the systems, especially when the cars are safer. In the consultation introduction, it said that advancement in mobile phone technology and car infotainment systems means that there are now more distractions for the drivers.
Kinnear would like to establish Euro NCAP like testing standards, for distraction. They want to see the attention standard i.e. the attention level the driver needs to pay to the road. TRL is talking with different departments to set up a testing protocol, which we think is very important, especially now that the numbers of cars with touchscreens in them are increasing.