Using phones for calling, texting and adjusting a vehicle’s radio or infotainment system while driving are fast emerging as one of the major factors resulting in distracted driving accidents across the globe. According to distraction.gov, an official US government website for distracted driving, 3,477 people were killed and nearly half a million were injured in the United States in 2015 alone due to distracted driving.
As automakers equip their vehicles with features that enhance connectivity and user experience, incidents of distracted driving are set to rise in the coming years. In addition to automakers, consumers can also buy aftermarket devices which enhance the driver’s connectivity and user experience.. Therefore, it becomes the responsibilities of not only automakers but also aftermarket electronic device developers to develop features that curb distracted driving. Although automakers urge drivers to focus on the road while using such features during driving, they can only go so far in effecting driver behaviour.
Last month, in the United States, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released guidelines to help address driver distraction caused by mobiles and other portable electronic devices in vehicles. The proposed guidelines, which are voluntary, encourage aftermarket electronic device developers to design products in a way that curb driver distraction. The NHTSA urged aftermarket electronic device developers to include features such as pairing, in which a portable device is linked to a vehicle’s infotainment system, as well as Driver Mode – a simplified user interface.
Once a phone is paired with the vehicle’s interface most of its functions, including text entry for messaging, internet browsing, displaying social media content and video playing capabilities would be disabled. If pairing is not available or the driver is not willing to pair the device with the vehicle’s interface, the device should be put in Driver Mode. Once a phone is in Driver Mode, it creates a simplified interface making most of the other features unavailable to the driver. NHTSA believes both features offer significant potentials in reducing driver distraction by limiting the time a driver’s eyes are off the road.
The NHTSA’s announcement last month covers the second phase of voluntary guidelines to address distracted driving on US roads. The safety regulator’s first phase of guidelines in 2013 targeted electronic devices or systems that automakers offer as original equipment (OE) fitment in their vehicles and focused on reducing distraction that involved visual-manual interaction. The guidelines proposed that the interface of these devices should be simplified in order to reduce driver distraction.
The first phase guidelines asserted that a vehicle’s OE device, from navigation to the radio, should have an interface that minimizes the driver's glances away from the road to no more than two seconds. The guidelines go on to say that the sum of the time it takes to look away from the road and complete a task while driving should not exceed 12 seconds. It also suggested OEMs disable several operations, such as manual texting, video calling or conferencing and display of certain type of text including text messages, web pages, social media content, unless the vehicle is stopped and parked.
The NHTSA’s second phase guideline applies its first phase recommendations to the visual-manual interface of portable and aftermarket devices. Thus pairing would ensure that the task performed by the driver while driving would meet the time-based, eye-glance task acceptance criteria specified in the first phase guidelines. In case of the Driver Mode too, the device should lock out tasks that do not meet first phase task acceptance criteria or are among the specified lock-outs. NHTSA said that it is considering combining the two phase guidelines into a single document when the second phase is finalized. The safety regulator is seeking public opinion on its latest proposed guidelines.
The NHTSA’s latest guidelines have received mixed reactions from automakers and others. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM), whose members include major automakers operating in the United States, such as BMW, FCA, Ford, GM, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi Motors, Toyota and Volvo Cars, appeared to be receptive to the guidelines. Wade Newton, a spokesperson of the AAM, said that the association would carefully review these guidelines. “We believe it’s important to encourage drivers to use in-vehicle systems rather than handheld personal electronic devices that were not engineered for use in the driving environment,” Newton said.
However, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the trade association, which claims to have 2200 members and organizes the CES conference every year, described the proposed guidelines on driver distraction from electronic devices as “disturbing” and “regulatory overreach”. Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CTA, said that rather than focusing on devices which could reduce drunk driving, the regulator has chosen to exceed their actual authority and regulate almost every portable device. According to him, this regulatory overreach could thwart the innovative solutions and technologies that help drivers make safer decisions from ever coming to market.
The latest guidelines by NHTSA, however, fall short of a complete ban on mobile device use by drivers favored by the United States National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates accidents and issues recommendations, but can’t make rules. “While it is helpful to have some guidance, it’s a day late and a dollar short,” said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, stressing there is a “need for a smart solution, not feel-good guidelines”.
The NTHSA has chosen the middle path in its guidelines. Whether the US safety regulator is within its rights to come with guidelines that impact other industries is debatable, its intention to curb distracted driving should not be doubted. However, mere guidelines might not be enough to curb distracted driving, which is expected to increase in the coming years.
