The research report has been carried out by SINTEF in collaboration with Nord University for Safe Traffic and the insurance company Fremtind. It shows how long it takes to perform various tasks on the touch screen in the car, such as changing the radio channel, entering an address or changing the temperature.
– It is startling how destructive the touch screen is for attention, says Ann-Helen Hansen in Trygg Trafikk.
The drivers in the study had their eyes on the touchscreen, and not on the road, between 10-11 seconds to change the radio channel or select music. To enter an address, drivers looked at the screen for over 15 seconds.
– When you take your eyes off the traffic, you are in practice driving blind. So the longer the task takes, the longer you have been driving blindfolded, says Hansen.
She reminds that just seconds of inattention can have major consequences in traffic.
– If you control the music for just 2 seconds while driving at 63 km/h, you have driven more than 30 meters blind. Driving requires your full attention, all the time.
Comment: The invisible helpers in the car
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