Benefits & Safety Risks

Papers, polls, Q&A items, and comments on this page are oriented to topics and issues associated with Benefits and Safety Risks of in-vehicle technologies. Feel free to post comments on issues outlined below, or in response to papers, polls, and/or questions submitted to our expert panel. Although discussions are meant to emphasize safety impacts associated with in-vehicle technological devices, comments relating to safety risks deriving from non-technological or traditional sources of distraction (e.g., eating, shaving, applying make-up, monitoring kids, etc) are also welcome. A moderator has been assigned to periodically synthesize comments, keep discussions focused and moving, emphasize key points, and offer additional insights into related issues.

DISCUSSION ISSUES/TOPICS

Extent of Problem & Safety Risks

To what extent is there a safety problem? Are problems limited to new users who are first learning to use the system, or are they more pervasive and wide spread?
How can we maintain benefits without sacrificing safety?
What can we expect to see in terms of impacts and how do we assess the appropriate level of safety risks from using in-vehicle technologies?
- Can we expect crash rates to increase as a result of in-vehicle technologies?
- How will these technologies affect individual’s ability to drive?
- Can drivers be trusted to regulate their use of these technologies – limiting their use to situations when it is presumed safe to operate.
- Will drivers become less cautious as they become routinely exposed to these technologies?

Research Needs

What are the important unanswered questions relating to safety & benefits of in-vehicle technology. What research issues should we invest our time and resources studying?

Content Available In Each Topic Area

  Paper
  Comment
  Ask the Expert
  Poll

Extent of Problem & Safety Risks
	The Impact of Internal Distraction on Driver Visual Behavior 5/17/00 2:30:52 PM The Influence of the Use of Mobile Phones on Driver Situation Awareness 5/17/00 2:31:00 PM Issues in the Evaluation of Driver Distraction Associated with In-Vehicle Information and Telecommunications Systems 5/18/00 9:44:51 AM Individual Differences and In-Vehicle Distraction While Driving: A Test Track Study and Psychometric Evaluation 5/18/00 10:35:38 AM A Technical Platform for Driver Inattention Research 5/18/00 1:34:17 PM In terms of safety, what type of distraction concerns you more? Have you ever witnessed, or experienced a close call or crash resulting from a driver using a cellular phone or from your personal use with a cell phone? How capable are drivers at making decisions about when it is safe to use technology while driving? my own inability 7/6/00 8:21:30 AM driving while inconversated 7/6/00 8:31:21 AM honk honk honk! hang up the @#$%$#@ cell phone please! 7/6/00 8:40:13 AM Driving is dangerous enough. 7/8/00 12:16:49 AM More distractions? 7/8/00 9:24:29 AM more comments after reading studies 7/8/00 9:28:20 AM *Have you ever witnessed, or experienced a close call or crash resulting from a driver being distracted by something other than a cell phone? (e.g. reading a map, eating, personal grooming)* in-vehicle technology needs to be eliminated 7/13/00 10:17:06 PM Hang-up and Drive 7/14/00 10:31:02 AM General comments about distracted drivers 7/14/00 3:33:25 PM Passenger airbags; forcing children, especially rear-facing infants to the back seat where they are responsible for crash causing driver distractions. 7/14/00 5:48:07 PM Multitude of distractions 7/15/00 11:26:03 PM Distraction Perspective 7/17/00 10:42:58 PM Driving is Given Less Attention Than it Deserves 7/18/00 9:10:49 AM Now that we know..... 7/18/00 9:15:10 AM Lonely on the road 7/18/00 5:18:40 PM cell phones 7/18/00 5:27:39 PM Distractions 7/18/00 8:09:55 PM Latest attempt to legislate common sense at the expense of freedom 7/18/00 9:21:39 PM Children in the back seat 7/18/00 10:27:26 PM Benefits are minimal; not worth the risks 7/19/00 10:20:19 AM Comment on "Benefits are minimal..." 7/19/00 5:07:26 PM Benefits---I am not convinced 7/20/00 10:42:30 AM There is a solution - it's called the train 7/20/00 12:34:16 PM *The real* problem 7/21/00 11:52:59 AM What about other in-vehicle technologies? 7/21/00 5:24:54 PM The scope of "distractions" needs to be cast much wider 7/21/00 9:35:32 PM Trained drivers susceptible to distraction? (See detailed question below) 7/25/00 8:56:18 AM oh dear its you we should watch for 7/26/00 10:13:43 AM Driver Training 7/26/00 12:45:19 PM Engage brain before putting mouth into gear 7/27/00 1:17:58 PM comment on: Benefits---I am not convinced 8/1/00 9:57:07 AM RE: oh dear its you we should watch for 8/3/00 7:06:56 AM Map Readfing while driving 8/3/00 7:25:10 AM RE: Latest attempt to legislate common sense at the expense of freedom 8/3/00 7:59:16 AM Referring to: cell phones 8/3/00 8:54:22 AM RE: Greg Knight's comment 8/3/00 10:14:11 AM Technology Related Distraction & Crashes (see detailed question below) 8/3/00 10:28:09 AM Comment on: RE: Greg Knight's comment 8/3/00 12:35:46 PM Have you been to Westport, CT? 8/5/00 9:25:19 PM RE: Lonely on the road 8/7/00 11:30:54 AM driver awareness 8/8/00 10:04:57 AM Think about it 8/8/00 2:58:44 PM 911? 8/8/00 3:12:11 PM Critical Input: Headway to vehicle in front 8/8/00 4:46:30 PM Riding my bike home from work 8/8/00 10:26:39 PM Infants in the back seat 8/10/00 11:10:47 AM RE: 911? 8/10/00 12:08:03 PM Human element cannot be minimized by technology** 8/10/00 9:57:59 PM Dave Christy Industry Trade Association/Society I'll qualify my forthcoming remarks with some personal background: I'm a master automotive tech. with advanced certfication, a charter member of the Service Technicians Society (a division of the Society of Automotive Engineers), possess a commercial driver's license with the attending D.O.T. requirements, am a motorcycle rider/rights activist/traveler and own a fine set of libertarian values. I've driven cars, trucks and motorcycles for business and pleasure, covering quite a bit of ground in the U.S. I have also serviced and repaired a fair quantity of vehicles representative of what people drive. Therefore I believe I've seen and experienced much in the transportation arena. We have a population teeming with drivers void of consideration and courtesy. Vehicle operators whose sense of responsibility and traffic/road savvy is secondary to their freedom of movement. DMV's that hand out driver's licenses more for the money than any respectable evaluation of education and skill. Close calls, accidents, crashes, loss of property, injury, death--all these precede the advent of vehicle cockpit technology and gadgetry and will continuein spite of it; the human element is such a large contributing factor. There is no doubt in my mind that communications devices, displays and the like detract from the responsibility of driving--I've been involved in too many near misses, observing those who are not observing me, using my attentiveness to avert an "accident". There is also no doubt in my mind that the technology has, is, and will be manufactured and integrated into the motor vehicle, marketed as safety, convenience, essential, or what have you. I do have a suggestion though. To the designers, engineers and automakers: Please incorporate 'flight recorder' technology into your systems as you integrate them into vehicles. I see value in being able to retrieve data that could tell accident investigators if these vehicle cockpit devices were in use at the time of a crash. Of course, so would attorneys on behalf of their clients that another driver had hit. One size does not fit all 8/11/00 2:27:09 PM
Research Needs