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| Android Auto |
Do you think using the best infotainment systems on the Android Auto and Apple CarPlay market is harmless? To find out, a study by the British road safety association IAM RoadSmart quarantined put forty drivers in a simulator, half with Android Auto and the other with CarPlay. The route was divided into three situations, including following another vehicle, heavy and erratic highway traffic on the highway, and an eight-circuit. All this with several passages.
More dangerous than writing a text, driving drunk or stone ...
In the first test, the drivers drove without an infotainment system. In the second test, they were asked to complete a list of actions, including listening to music, turning on the radio, turning on navigation, sending a text, and making a call using voice commands. In the third and final test, they were asked to do the same thing without the voice, with the touch screen. Four criteria were measured: ability to maintain speed, trajectory, attention of the eyes and the results of a driver self-assessment.
On top of that, their reaction time to dangers was constantly measured. The result is quite worrying: when using the touch screen, reaction times have exploded between 53 and 57%. By comparison, driving with 0.08% alcohol in the blood only increases reaction time by 12% and smoking a joint increases reaction time by 21%. This means a braking distance multiplied by 4 or 5 depending on the association.
More surprising: the voice interaction is far from eliminating the problem, since the reaction time always increases between 30 and 36% depending on their results. However, writing a text message already increases the reaction time by 35%. And the reaction time is only part of the problem since beyond that, the use of the screen causes trajectory deviations of half a meter, for example.
Much more data can be found in the full study at the source of this article. But its instigators conclude with a call to manufacturers and the regulator "to better test in an open manner and approve such systems and develop constant standards which really help to minimize driver distraction".
