According to a recent article entitled 'New cars have ‘staggering’ amount of distracting technology, study finds' published by the Press Herald. New cars are increasingly being designed with distracting technology and brought to market at an alarming rate.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety concluded that 23 out of the 30 new car models it tested demanded that the driver pay a high or very high level of attention to onboard technology while the car was moving.

Some vehicles allow internet searches or interaction with social media. The worst among the demanding optional technology is navigational equipment. AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety photo

There's a fine line between having the right balance of technology integrated into your car and having too much tech connected to your motor vehicle. Some advancements that I think have been very beneficial include, bluetooth integration to allow drivers to talk on the phone hands free in case of emergencies, GPS integration so drivers can easily find there way around town or on road trips and an easy to use music system.

New-model cars are loaded with more driver distractions than ever before, including navigation systems that take an average of 40 seconds to program, according to a study of more than two dozen 2017 vehicles.

This seems a bit silly to me as everyone knows drivers should program their navigation before they enter traffic making this '40' second statement pointless.

Distracted driving is underreported because many drivers don’t admit to their distraction, but in 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded that 3,477 people were killed and 391,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.

This is a more valid point in my opinion as technology should be simplifying operations and increasing safety, if its pushing things in the opposite direction, something isn't working right and needs to be fixed...

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I've been in many cars with integrated GPS / bluetooth and music systems and I'll admit we have come a long way in terms of the types of technological advancements that have been integrated into motor vehicles. I think a strong independent audit is needed into onboard computer systems and the services offered and then some real thought needs to go into thinking about how a driver may be distracted when working with their onboard computer system.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Please leave comments and feedback below!

Thanks for reading!

Source:

New cars have ‘staggering’ amount of distracting technology, study finds - Press Herald