Mainstream Media Discusses Safety of MFT

[rkaplan]

Interesting article... the mainstream media seems to be going against MFT on safety grounds, yet they do not have much objective data. Ford says they have data to say it is safer than other cars.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

In-Car Technologies Not Safe for Drivers, Experts Say

LiveScience.com - Wed Nov 24th, 2010 12:25 PM EST

 

 

Technology is everywhere these days, and cars are no exception. From

 

 

 

built-in Internet hot spots and iPad docks attached to seat headrests to

 

state-of-the-art TVs, many drivers are cruising around with the latest

 

high-tech frills and accessories in their ride.

 

But even when it is designed to help drivers keep both hands on the

 

wheel, such technology can cause "cognitive distractions" and are

 

ultimately dangerous, experts say.

 

Among the most controversial is Ford's latest enhancement of its popular voice-activated SYNC

 

in-car communications system. The driver interface called MyFord Touch

 

is entirely voice-controlled, including entertainment - AM/FM and

 

satellite radio, HD, CD, MP3 - as well as climate control, phone and

 

navigation.

 

MyFord Touch also uses the power of a smartphone to access and

 

control other applications. Users have the ability to listen to

 

streaming music from online music services, stay in touch with the news

 

and check out the latest Twitter messages - all without taking their

 

hands off the wheel.

 

Since SYNC technology does away with fumbling for the phone, allowing

 

drivers to keep their eyes on the road, Ford says it can help make

 

highways safer.

 

"Ford is committed to addressing driver distraction in empirical,

 

research-driven ways and implementing our findings in active safety

 

systems and advanced infotainment systems throughout our vehicle lines,"

 

Louis Tijerina, Ford senior technical specialist, said in a recent

 

statement.

 

Distraction prevention

 

According to a recent study conducted by the Ford Motor Co. in 2009,

 

the SYNC hands-free system significantly reduced the level of

 

distraction for drivers who used it - from dialing a number to choosing a

 

song - instead of hand-held devices.

 

Ford researchers measured total eyes-off-the-road time, deviation of

 

lane position, speed variability and object detection response time to

 

identify differences in attentiveness and driving performance while

 

using the Ford SYNC technology. Ford found that drivers meandered over

 

lane lines in more than 30 percent of trials using hand-held phones and

 

music players, as compared to 0 percent when performing those same tasks

 

with SYNC.

 

On its website, Ford also refers to a study from Virginia Tech that

 

followed 109 drivers for one year, entailing 43,000 hours and over 2

 

million miles of driving. The report showed that manually dialing a

 

hand-held device while driving (a task that requires looks away from the

 

road) was almost 2.8 times riskier than just driving. Virginia Tech

 

also reported that almost 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of

 

all near-misses occurred just after a glance away from the road.

 

"These results strongly suggest that SYNC's voice-interface offers

 

substantial advantages compared to manipulating a carried-in device to

 

do the same task," Tijerina said.

 

The controversy

 

However, not everyone agrees that Ford's in-car technology is beneficial to drivers.

 

"Ford may say it's hands-free, but it's certainly not risk-free,"

 

said Robert Sinclair Jr., manager of media relations for the auto club

 

AAA New York. "The distractions that do exist are very mentally

 

distracting, especially when it comes to checking social networking

 

sites. We find all of this very disturbing."

 

Sinclair said he believes engaging in social media sites while on the road demands significantly more concentration than a phone call.

 

"Going on Facebook or sending a Tweet is engaging in a complex

 

conversation that should absolutely not be done while driving," he said.

 

"Drivers are already controlling a heavy object, watching out for

 

lights, signs and, of course, other vehicles. Just a two-second

 

distraction is enough time for someone to be involved in a crash."

 

"Car manufacturers think they are doing the right thing and that they

 

are on God's side by preventing someone from using a hand-held device,

 

but it's just more harm than good," Sinclair added.

 

David Strayer, a cognitive scientist at the University of Utah who studies distracted driving , agrees that this type of technology in cars is unsafe.

 

"Some activities such as listening to the radio are passive, but

 

others such as texting and checking Facebook are not," Strayer told

 

TechNewsDaily. "The mind can only do one thing at once when driving - it's been long published in scientific journals. People who say that

 

in-car technology is not distracting to drivers just don't know the

 

science of the brain."

 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is fighting to disable the

 

use of certain technologies in cars. LaHood recently launched a "Faces

 

of Distracted Driving" campaign, an online video series exploring the

 

tragic consequences of texting and using a cell phone while driving.

 

The series features people from across the country that have been

 

injured or lost loved ones in distracted driving crashes. In 2009,

 

nearly 5,500 people died and half a million were injured in accidents

 

involving a distracted driver.

 

"If there was a drug on the market that killed that many people each year, it would be immediately removed," Strayer said.

 

Strayer noted there is a huge social-political struggle on the table since tens of billions of dollars are at stake.

 

"There's a lot of money to be had for consumer electronic companies,

 

automakers and others, but it also has a huge impact on insurance

 

companies," Strayer said. "They are very alarmed and concerned about the

 

trend and also don't want customers using any technology while

 

driving."

 

More technology

 

Of particular concern for car safety experts is the installation of TVs inside vehicles - sometimes even in the front seats.

 

"Installing a TV anywhere in the front seat of a car is illegal in

 

some states, including New York," Sinclair said. "Only navigation

 

screens are allowed up front, and even those can be distracting."

 

In many cases, people with TVs in the front seats get busted. A

 

driver in New York state was recently pulled over after he was spotted

 

watching pornography from a front-seat TV while he was stopped at a

 

light. (He didn't realize a police station was right across the street.)

 

Another man had installed 15 monitors

 

in his vehicle - including one on the inside of the flap covering the

 

gas tank, so he could watch TV as he refilled his car. He was also

 

caught.

 

"This just goes to show the lack of seriousness and the attitude of

 

those operating vehicles," Sinclair said. "Driving is not downtime to

 

engage in other activities."

 

The distractions can be lethal. A truck driver who was watching a

 

movie accidentally hit and killed a woman who was parked on the side of a

 

highway.

 

"People know deep down they shouldn't be participating in these types

 

of distractions while driving, but if they try it a few times because

 

they are bored and don't crash, they think they are safe," Strayer said.

 

"However, it's critical that people only focus on driving while

 

driving. It's not the right time to be entertained."

 

Reach TechNewsDaily senior writer Samantha Murphy at

 

Extreme Mobile: Fords to Feature Voice-Controlled Internet

 

Seven Modern-Day Technologies Sparking Controversy

 

Distracted Driving: The Dangers of Mobile Texting and Phone Call

 

Original Story: In-Car Technologies Not Safe for Drivers, Experts Say

 

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[SonomaDriver]

I would agree that during the initial period after one buys a MFT equipped car, the level of distraction might be higher. You all know what I mean, "ooohh look at all the purty screens." There is also an initial learning curve with mastering the various voice commands. Once you settle into the new system, it should reduce distractions. Of course if the driver isn't a techie, the time it takes to get used to the new system and reduce distraction might be longer.

[akirby]

"If there was a drug on the market that killed that many people each year, it would be immediately removed," Strayer said.

 

Oh really? Then why hasn't Alcohol been outlawed?

 

There is no doubt that anything in the vehicle that's operated by or interacted with by the driver has the potential for distraction. Changing the radio or adjusting the climate controls are distracting. Carrying on a conversation with a passenger or eating is distracting to some degree.

 

The issue I have is they seem to be arbitrarily drawing a line in the sand as to what is too distracting. And you're not going to stop people from doing certain distracting things even if they're illegal so if you can make them less distracting by using voice commands I think that's a good thing. Just like we make cars safer to protect people even when they make a mistake and have a wreck.

[Waldo]

The basic assumption behind Ford's stance is that people are going to do these things anyway, so why not make it as safe as possible. If you "ban" Sync and other such devices, people will just go back to using their phones like they used to. Maybe not as many people, but a big distraction for a few people is worse than a small distraction for many people.

 

Also intrigued how this guy Sinclair makes the leap that the MyFordTouch allows you to send text messages and check facebook pages while driving. I don't believe that is actually true, he ought to actually try the system before condemning it.

[marc4sgr]

I was thinking, I bet we all wish we could do that with our MyTouch systems, cause mine sure as hell doesnt do social media!!

[revOevoM]

I heard a while back that after states / cities outlawed hands-on cellphone use, accident rates actually increased. The obvious happened: trying to use cellphones - with hands - without getting caught was a bigger distraction - causing more accidents - than using them without the worry.

[mindwarp]

I really don't see the point of browsing websites, updating FaceBook, etc.

 

GPS, stereo, and maybe the occasional hands-free phonecall is all I would care about.

 

 

As for phone calls, I even tend to avoid the hands free call. Most of the time the call can wait until I get to my destination, though I'll answer and immediately ask if it's urgent.

 

The extend of my phone calls:

- I'm going to be late to X

- I'm going to Y, text me a shopping list

- etc

 

 

If the person tries to strike up a conversation, I tell them I have to go.