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In-car connectivity and software specialists say the technology has become a distraction for drivers, a sign of trouble.
According to the CEO of VNC Automotive, an “automotive ecosystem” including Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, Bosch, Panasonic, Sony and Huawei, a technology specialist that provides hardware and software, innovations aimed at improving driver comfort and safety are at risk. A problem rather than a solution.
“The race for drivers’ attention has never been greater,” said VNC CEO Tom Blakey. “The roads are busier than ever, touch screens control the interior of vehicles, and we live an increasingly connected life. That means there are now more opportunities for the driver’s attention to be elsewhere.
A recent study by UK Transport Research Laboratory and road safety charity IM Roadmart Drivers take their eyes off the road for 20 seconds when asked to play a track from Spotify using the touch screen – enough to travel at more than 630 meters per hour.
During that time, many drivers struggled to maintain their lane positions, while some failed to respond to the simulated emergency. Overall, response times increased by up to 57 percent when connecting to these devices. Driving while high on alcohol increases reaction times by 12 percent in comparison.
“Not only that, but modern cars are equipped with systems that want to give us a lot of warnings and alerts, asking us to cross a white line or take a break without warning.
“They’ve become backseat drivers, interrupting the act of driving to provide criticism but without enough context to be useful,” Blakey said.
VNC argues that a shift to active safety technology (features designed to prevent an accident) is inevitable because passive measures (designed to protect occupants in an accident) The limits of their abilities without further major developments expected.
Externally mounted cameras, radar and other sensors are quickly becoming the norm. Testing bodies such as NCAP/ANCAP do not award full five-star ratings to new vehicles unless they are fitted with extensive active safety features.
VNC now has evidence that new cars are more likely to be at risk when crossing or merging into traffic: “The risks associated with looking away from the road – for example when interacting with a mobile phone – are well understood, as is the effect of the many short glances that are common when interacting with a touch screen, for example.” More research is needed.
Our experience with our technology installed in 35 million vehicles worldwide has shown us that there is a subtle but significant difference between an interface that provides a thin window into the digital world and one that buries basic functionality in the middle. Laboratory.
“Perhaps the time has come for us to recognize the seriousness of this challenge and ask our safety agencies to institute regular assessments of in-vehicle distractions,” suggests Black.
Euro NCAP may already be working on this ethos. From 2023, vehicles must be installed with “live driver monitoring”. In order to achieve a perfect score in the Occupant Status Monitoring (OSM) category, the system removes warnings if the driver’s attention is too far away from the driving task.
This raises the possibility that the driver will be advised to enter the touch menu to adjust the temperature, for example, an unpleasant situation that any car manufacturer would undoubtedly like to solve. But it also introduces the possibility of adjusting the vehicle’s systems in response to the driver’s current attention level. ADAS features such as Forward Collision Warning can adjust their sensitivity to deliver warnings sooner if the driver’s attention is diverted, while the opposite can be true, reacting less intrusively if the driver is judged to be more alert. It may be possible to adjust the position of the in-vehicle screens in response to the situation, making the display easier on the busy highway.
Meanwhile, the industry continues to look to a future that leverages vehicle autonomy to legitimize opportunities for drivers to take their eyes off the road.
“If we expect drivers to regain control if the assistance feature doesn’t work as expected, understanding both physical and cognitive distraction becomes even more important,” says Black.
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