IVR

“Driving is not like a video game. Make one mistake and you can die,” a friend once uttered to this writer while driving a black Camaro between Vancouver and Whistler, B.C. Canada on the still-notorious Sea-to-Sky Highway.

 

Driving is hazardous enough, say safety experts without having in-car distractions like wireless devices or the increasingly popular higher-end entertainment or “carfotainment” systems. And U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray La Hood wants the auto industry to hear the message before the next person loses their life or is injured as a result of them.

The Detroit News reports that LaHood is planning to talk to the carmakers again about this issue after meeting with them last October. He said he saw Ford Motor Co. President and CEO Alan Mulally last Saturday, and the two have been e-mailing about distracted driving.

“Some of these car manufacturers are putting all these gadgets and bells and whistles that are going to distract people -- and we're trying to get gadgets and bells and whistles out of their hands and out of their ears,” LaHood said Wednesday.

The paper said he declined to say if he'll try to restrict in-vehicle technologies.

“I am going to talk to the car manufacturers and see where this leads,” he said.

LaHood already has campaigned for a ban on hand-held texting and cell phone use. The U.S. Department of Transportation plans to issue regulations this year to discourage distracted driving. LaHood has made it a priority, saying he is on a 'rampage' against the practice.

President Barack Obama has barred four million federal workers from sending text messages while driving government vehicles. The directive applies to privately owned vehicles driven by employees on official business.

The Governors Highway Safety Administration (GHSA) reports that as of February 2010 there are handheld cell phone bans for all drivers in six states plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. 19 states, the District of Columbia and Guam now ban text messaging for all drivers. Fifteen states, D.C., and Guam have primary enforcement. In the other four states, all driver texting bans are secondarily enforced. Some states have limited texting bans. Some states, such as Maine, New Hampshire and Utah treat cell phone use as a larger distracted driving issue.

The distracted driving issue is serious. The paper cites the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data reporting that nearly 6,000 people died last year in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured.

At the same time the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently issued a study reported by the paper stating that bans on hand-held cell phones in New York, the District of Columbia, Connecticut and California have had no impact on the number of auto accidents.

But LaHood told the paper the reason the prohibitions are ineffective is that police aren't aggressively enforcing them.

The GHSA supports state legislation that would ban text messaging, electronic devices used for entertainment purposes with video screens that are within view of the driver and school bus drivers from text messaging or using electronic devices except in emergencies. It believes that, when on the road, all drivers should not text message, use cell phones or other electronic devices, faxes, computers or other distracting devices except to report a crash to emergency responders. If a driver must use such devices to make a call or report a crash, the driver should first stop in a parking lot or other protected area.

GHSA opposes, though, federal legislation that would penalize states for not restricting the use of cell phones or other electronic devices. The association believes that instead the federal government should fund considerably more research to determine the scope and nature of the distracted driving problem, effective countermeasures and the effect of telematics on driving behavior. The federal government also should fund a comprehensive media campaign to educate the public about the dangers of distracted driving and the way to manage driver distractions.

There is growing interest in and popularity of carfotainment systems, a win-win for automakers and tech firms but critics say not for road safety. Carmakers are concerned that any future regulations could hurt sales. The Detroit News said Ford has been especially concerned that regulators may try to impose rules on its Sync in-vehicle communication system, which is a Ford selling point over some of its competitors.

The New York Times reported Jan.6 that the carmakers rolled out at the Consumer Electronics Show systems with among other features '10-inch screens above the gearshift showing high-definition videos, 3-D maps and Web pages.'

The article, “Driven to Distraction: Despite Risks, Internet Creeps Onto Car Dashboards,” reports that 'The technology and car companies say that safety remains a priority. They note that they are building in or working on technology like voice commands and screens that can simultaneously show a map to the driver and a movie to a front-seat passenger, as in the new Jaguar XJ.'

Ford’s new MyFord system lets the driver adjust temperature settings or call a friend while the car is in motion, while its built-in Web browser works only when the car is parked. Audi says it will similarly restrict access to complex and potentially distracting functions. But in general, drivers will bear much of the responsibility for limiting their use of these devices.

“We are trying to make that driving experience one that is very engaging,” said Jim Buczkowski, the director of global electrical and electronics systems engineering at Ford told the Times “We also want to make sure it is safer and safer. It is part of what our DNA will be going forward.”

The Times article noted though that “Safety advocates say the companies behind these technologies are tone-deaf to mounting research showing the risks of distracted driving -- and to a growing national debate about the use of mobile devices in cars and how to avoid the thousands of wrecks and injuries this distraction causes each year.

“This is irresponsible at best and pernicious at worst,' Nicholas A. Ashford, a professor of technology and policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said of the new efforts to marry cars and computers. 'Unfortunately and sadly, it is a continuation of the pursuit of profit over safety -- for both drivers and pedestrians.”