If you’re not sure having a big tablet-like device for an infotainment screen (or two) in your car is the way to go because of its fiddly operation, then you might want to read on.
Apparently, some functions provided by dashboard tablets necessitate the driver’s attention for far too long – up to 4 seconds, it seems, for reading a text message.
Reuters quotes Joe Simitian, a former California lawmaker credited for being an important force behind the state’s phone use while driving laws. He says “I think they (the screens) raise serious public safety questions. From a legislative standpoint, this is going to be something legislators struggle with for years to come.”
This is supported by David Stayer, a professor of cognition and neural science at the University of Utah who remarks that “You can’t be looking at a screen and be looking at the road at the same time.” He says these screens “are enabling activities that take your eyes off the road for longer than most safety advocates would say is safe.”
Current US legislation regulating dashboard tablets usually boils down to you not being able to watch videos while on the move, although you can be shown a video tutorial of how a backup camera system works.
The US government advises that you should only look at the screen for 1.5-2 seconds at a time for no more than 12 seconds. As previously mentioned, reading a text message takes 4 seconds, but how about browsing through online radios, checking the weather or messing with the sat-nav? Those probably take comparable lengths of time to achieve…
However, the industry won’t give up on them so easily, and according to Nvidia’s automotive division, having as responsive a display as possible is the key to minimizing glance times. It also advocates that with a sharp response and large size it’s really not all that bad to use.
Do share with us below your own experience of using one of these newfangled systems and tell us if you’d prefer buttons, knobs or gestures instead.