Hands-free, voice based infotainment systems installed in car dashboards to let drivers choose music to listen to, make calls and similar activities while driving intended to provide minimal distraction are found to be as distracting as using a mobile phone while driving in a recent study conducted by the AAA foundation for Traffic Safety and University of Utah.
The study included six infotainment systems of Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Mercedes, Chrysler and Hyundai and five of these cards were 2013 models while one of them was a 2012 model. About 162 students and volunteers from the University of Utah took part in the study and were asked to drive on a seven to nine minute loop.
They were also allowed test loops to acquaint themselves with the route and the infotainment systems installed and were asked to do common tasks such as dialing a ten digit number, sending a text, posting on a social network, calling a contact, choosing a different radio station, playing a CD, etc, during the study. They were also fitted with tools tracking brain activity, heart rate and testing devices.
Of all the six tested infotainment systems, Chevrolet’s MyLink reached a score of 3.7 on a scale of 5 with 5 being the most distractive system. Apple’s Siri scored 4.14 and two participants rear-ended other cars while using Siri. Toyota’s Entune received the lowest score of 1.7 meaning it was found to be the least distracting infotainment system of the six.
The scores were calculated based on the amount of time the systems take to perform the task instructed by the driver and the accuracy of recognizing voice based instructions. While making a call took less time, playing the music as instructed by the driver took a longer time, meaning that the distraction period is longer for such tasks.
Ultimately, using infotainment systems were found to be as distracting as talking on a mobile phone or to a passenger in the car. Researchers have suggested users to choose an infotainment system that are less error-prone as the distraction would be lower when such systems are used.
