Americans have increasingly accepted that handheld cell phone use is dangerous for drivers, and alternatives such as hands-free devices and voice command systems have been embraced by consumers and manufacturers alike.
While hands-free options may be marginally safer than handheld devices, eliminating driver use of all types of cell phones will always be the safest option.
Voice command systems may be built into IVIS or cell phones. Common examples are personal-assistant interfaces that execute voice-activated dialing and other operations, and speech-to-text functions.
Hands-free devices and voice command systems are often seen as complete solutions to the risks of driver distraction because they reduce visual distraction – looking away from the road – and manual distraction – removing hands from the steering wheel. However, cognitive distraction, taking one’s mind off the road, is a danger resulting from any driver interaction with cell phones or IVIS technologies.
Hands-free devices and voice command systems create a cognitive distraction as the driver mentally engages with interactive tasks. And even though these systems are labeled hands-free, they may require the use of buttons or touchscreens that are also manually and visually distracting.
The cognitive distraction from paying attention to conversation or IVIS alerts – from listening and responding to a disembodied voice – is the same on both handheld and hands-free devices, because the driver’s brain is allotting some of its processing power to the phone conversation rather than scanning the road, tracking the movement and position of other vehicles and watching for hazards.
To learn more about distracted driving, click here.
