The increasingly common use of existing technology and the rapidly emerging new technology make it imperative to understand how in-vehicle technology affects driving safety. Properly designed, the new technologies may enhance driving enjoyment and safety; poorly designed, they can be deadly. The rapidly evolving technology brings a mixed blessing to the driver. Although hands-free cell phones may eliminate some of the visual and manual demands that undermine driving performance, many studies have shown the cognitive demands of conversation are not eliminated with hands-free devices and may even increase if the intelligibility of the hands-free devices is less than the handheld device. New devices, such MP3 players and text messaging, have the potential to impose visual, manual, and cognitive demands that may greatly exceed those of cell phones. Understanding how emerging technology influences distraction is an important driving safety issue. (a) For the covering record of the conference, please refer to ITRD abstract no E216954.
Samenvatting