Voice Recognition Features Still Distracting for Drivers

Drivers who use hands-free commands remain distracted for up to 27 seconds after they have made a call or changed music, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Earlier this month, members of the Transportation Committee expressed their support for legislation that would require Massachusetts drivers to use only hands-free cell phone technology.

AAA judged a mental distraction rating of 2 or higher to be potentially risky while driving. Traveling at 25 miles per hour, that would equal the length of three football fields. The experts involved in these tests considered 10 modern vehicles from various manufacturers and 3 mobile phone systems and found out that not all these techniques are similarly diverting the drivers’ attention.

A study published Thursday casts doubt on the safety of voice-activated technology in new cars – the kind that allows consumers to talk to their phones and cars while driving, rather than pushing buttons. Google Now worked best, ranking a distraction level of 3, while Microsoft Cortana and Apple Siri scored nearly 4 on the experts’ scale. Employing methods used to test the brain functions of pilots, the research shows a surprising level of driver distraction, even inside newer vehicles with built-in communications systems. This is the case even when the drivers’ eyes are on the road and their hands are both on the wheels.

The worst was the Mazda 6 sedan, with a cognitive distraction rating of 4.6.

The “in- vehicle information system” considered as “high distraction systems” were Ford Taurus and Sync MyFord Touch (3.1), Chevy Malibu using MyLink (3.4), Volkswagen Passat and Car-Net (3.5), Nissan Altima and Nissan Connect (3.7), Chrysler 200c and Uconnect (3.8) and Hyundai Sonata using Blue Link (3.8).

“Drivers should use caution while using voice-activated systems, even at seemingly safe moments when there is a lull in traffic or the vehicle is stopped at an intersection”, read a statement from AAA Chicago director of public affairs Beth Mosher.

But on this one we are in rare agreement with Rep. Cory Atkins (D-Concord), who told the Herald last week that the distraction posed by hands-free devices is “not as bad as hand-held” and should be permitted.

AAA Foundation researchers say that a category 1 mental distraction is about the same as listening to the radio or an audio book. A category 2 distraction is about the same as talking on the phone, while category 3 is equivalent to sending voice-activated texts on a flawless, error-free system. “Technology continues to reduce distractions”.

Joel Cooper, a University of Utah research assistant professor of psychology, stated voice-command technology may not be reliable enough to be considered safe for drivers.

A total of 257 drivers ages 21-70 participated in the study of 2015 model-year vehicles, while 65 additional drivers ages 21-68 tested the three phone systems.