A StayAlert Bulletin
By Allen Hartle
Is it time to discuss moderating the text
and images radio stations push to car dashboards?
At 60 mph you would travel in excess of 200 feet to read this message.
This is extreme, though an improvement considering there is no call to action text
Personal Injury lawyer ads have become so common, some stations are lampooning them on the air!
What Is Distracted Driving?
According to the NHTSA, distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system
-anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.
In addition to the distracted driving issues, we are concerned automakers will simply disable FM metadata from displaying in the future.
An estimated 899,000 of all police-reported crashes involved a report of a distracted driver in 2010. Of those 899,000 crashes, 26,000 (3%) specifically stated that the driver was distracted when he was adjusting or using an integrated device/control.
About the NHTSA
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is responsible for keeping people safe on America's roadways. Through enforcing vehicle performance standards and partnerships with state and local governments, NHTSA reduces deaths, injuries and economic losses from motor vehicle crashes.
An excerpt from their current take on in-car displays
F. Per Se Lock Outs.
The following electronic device tasks are recommended for per se lock out and should always be inaccessible for performance by the driver while driving:
1. Device functions and tasks not intended to be used by a driver while driving.
5. Automatically Scrolling Text. The display of scrolling text that is moving at a pace not controlled by the driver.
6. Displaying Text to Be Read. The visual presentation of the following types of non-driving-related task textual information:
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Books
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Periodical publications (including newspapers, magazines, articles)
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Web page content
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Social media content
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Text-based advertising and marketing
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Text-based messages (see definition) and correspondence