Amid growing concerns that drivers spend too much time fiddling with gadgets, the auto industry and safety regulators are stepping up research into distractions caused by cellphones, sound systems, navigation tools and other paraphernalia.
General Motors is the latest, signing a three-year, $1.6 million agreement with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to find ways to minimize distractions and help drivers keep their minds on the road.
Most research has looked at distractions caused by telematic features, primarily cellphones and “infotainment” devices that link vehicles to the Internet. GM says it is looking at a bigger picture.
“We’re not specifically looking at telematics-related issues. We’re looking at the broader issues, which encompass driver distraction,” said James Rillings, manager of vehicle information technologies at GM Research and Development.
“We spend a lot of time figuring out how to convey a particular piece of information to the driver. Do we use speech? Do we use visuals? Do we use sounds?” Rillings said.
One possibility is to equip a car with sensors that could detect whether the driver is in a position to listen to an incoming call or text of an e-mail message.
“If you’re in a particularly difficult situation, you might want to have a phone that will automatically divert to voice mail,” he said.
“The car might sense it is in heavy traffic by the number of times the driver applies the brakes and decide it’s not a good time to distract the driver.”
Rillings says GM chose the University of Illinois to help with the research because it is considered a leader in studying how civilian and military pilots make decisions as they fly.
“Task sharing is important for pilots, and they’ve developed ways to help teach pilots to prioritize their decisions,” he said. “They have some approaches we think might be useful in helping with driver distraction.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was one of the first to call attention to in-car distractions, saying in a 1997 report that using a cellphone while driving increases the risk of an accident.
Since then, NHTSA has conducted research on test tracks and public roads on how common distractions such as dialing phones, changing CDs and eating affect driver performance.
NHTSA estimates that driver distraction of all types may be a factor in 25 to 30 percent of accidents, though spokesman Rae Tyson adds: “That is very difficult to pinpoint because that typically is not shown on a police accident report, which is where we get our information.”
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an industry trade group that represents most of the major car companies, recently gave NHTSA a voluntary list of guidelines it intends to use for installing telematics devices.
Among the issues are where telematics features should be installed, how much and what kind of information should be displayed while the vehicle is in motion (versus standing still) and how much driver attention it requires.
Vann Wilber, director of vehicle safety and harmonization for the alliance, says the “document is still evolving” but one recommendation is that the driver be able to keep one hand on the steering wheel while operating any device.
Another is that no device should require the driver to take his eyes off the road more than two seconds at a time.
“We looked at scientific research on that and found that a basic task like tuning a radio took two seconds, and the guideline is that other devices shouldn’t be any worse than that,” Wilber said.
Age is another issue, and the auto manufacturers agreed to test products on drivers age 45 to 60 because, Wilber said, there is a question of “technology literacy” for that age group compared with younger drivers.
A recent federal study on dash-mounted navigation systems concluded that drivers older than 55 took almost twice as long as drivers younger than 35 to enter destination information–nearly two minutes instead of 70 seconds. For both age groups, using the navigation system required far more time than tuning the radio.
While entering the information, older drivers drifted out of their traffic lane eight out of 10 times. Young drivers did so only two out of 10 times.
Alliance members voluntarily agreed to start designing features into new vehicles that meet these requirements within 18 months, which under the auto industry’s design cycle means that consumers should start seeing changes on vehicles in three to five years.
“We think it’s a good sign that the industry has decided to take this head on,” NHTSA’s Tyson said, estimating it will take NHTSA several months to evaluate the telematics guidelines submitted by the automakers.
“NHTSA’s position has been that the auto manufacturers and the manufacturers of telematics devices have an obligation to test these things for safety before they put them into the marketplace,” he said.
“Clearly, there are some devices that can have very negative impact on driving performance. We’re trying to find out at what point you reach cognitive overload.”
Industry standards
These are some of the standards carmakers are adopting for the installation and operation of telematics devices in vehicles from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers:
Design
– The system should support the driver.
– It should not distract the driver from driving.
Installation
– The system should not obstruct the driver’s vision.
– It should not obstruct controls and displays.
– Visual displays of data relevant to driving should be as close as practical to the driver’s line of sight.
– Visual displays should avoid glare and reflections.
Information
– Displays should allow the driver to read and understand the information in a few glances.
– Information relevant to driving should be accurate and timely.
– The system should not be so loud that it masks warnings from inside or outside the vehicle.
Interaction
– The system should not require the use of more than one hand at a time.
– Speech-based systems should include a provision for hands-free operation.
– The system should not require long sequences of interactions.
– The system should not interfere with displays and controls needed for safe driving.
– The driver should be able to control the pace of interaction with the system.
– It should not require time-critical responses.
– The driver should control non-critical auditory information where distraction or irritation is likely.
– The system’s response to driver input should be timely and clear.
– Systems providing non-safety related information should be able to be switched off.
