US gov’t wants phone makers to lock out most apps for drivers

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has proposed voluntary guidelines [PDF] created to reduce driver distraction by mobile devices in vehicles. NHTSA doesn’t want passengers to be blocked from full use of their device, however, so it also asks for the development of tech that can automatically distinguish between drivers and passengers during use and lock out features only for drivers.

After years of declines, traffic deaths on USA roads rose 7.2 percent last year and another 10.4 percent in the first six months of 2016.

According to the Alaska Highway Safety Office, driver behavior contributed to about 75 percent of traffic fatalities in Alaska on average in recent years. 2016 has seen 177,775 deaths on U.S. roads alone, and the federal government is calling it a crisis. Drivers must be blocked from access to photos.

The guidelines also recommend the implementation of Driver Mode, which would provide a simplified interface for allowed (non-distracting) functions and would block functions that would be disallowed in a device paired with a vehicle. While in driver mode, several features of the phone would appear as a simplified interface, with traffic information automatically displayed or music controls easily accessible. To support this goal, the regulators are also calling all stakeholders to ensure pairing a device with onboard systems is simple and quick. The agency says 10 percent of deadly crashes previous year involved distracted drivers. Phone and vehicle pairing already are available for many new vehicles sold in the United States. Researchers and safety advocates have always been calling on the government to require the auto industry to include technology in their vehicles that would render smartphones inoperable.

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind added: “NHTSA has long encouraged drivers to put down their phones and other devices, and just drive”.

The intention is that the driving mode will be adopted in a similar manner to the airplane mode common to most smartphones and connected devices, which restricts radio communications while airborne.

“As millions of Americans take to the roads for Thanksgiving gatherings, far too many are put at risk by drivers who are distracted by their cellphones”, Anthony Foxx, secretary of transportation, said in a statement.

The NHTSA is asking for public comments after reading more here.

The guidelines are mainly for the vehicle makers. It outlined suggestions such as minimizing the number of taps required to complete common tasks, limiting the initiation of phone calls while the vehicle to preset favorites rather than punching in full telephone numbers from scratch, and entering full addresses into navigation systems while the auto is in motion.