There’s nothing new in pointing out that distracted driving is a serious problem on American roads. That said, a recent study by AAA has brought some shocking statistics to light. At Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas, we want everyone who drives on California or American roads to be safe as possible. unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. If you’re injured in a car accident, please call us at 909-982-0707 for a free legal consultation.
The infotainment in the dashboards of cars is unsafe
According to the AAA study, automakers are adding more and more technology to the dashboards of cars, and it’s making cars less and less safe. The University of Utah completed the study, and found that the increase in technology since 2013 and significantly increased how distracted drivers are on the roads.
Automakers actually think this technology makes the roads safer
According to many of the automakers, they’re adding this infotainment in part to help drivers stay safer. They say it allows people to use social media, text, and email while driving in a safer way than if they were just on their phones. In some vehicles, there are now as many as 50 buttons on the dashboard and steering wheel, many of these buttons have several functions. Cars today may have touch screens, heads-up display on windshields and / or mirrors, voice commands, writing pads, and 3D images.
It seems there’s not consideration of whether this is a good idea
More and more layers of info and complexity are now available for drivers, and it seems that car manufacturers may not have fully considered if that was a good thing. They claim that these options are safer and better than a driver using their phone or navigation device, but the study doesn’t necessarily show that. The carmakers say that they don’t take more attention than a drive would use to change the radio station, or adjust the air conditioning.
The study tested 30 of the 2017 model year cars and trucks
According to the study, which tested 30 of the 2017 model year cars and light trucks, every single vehicle required drivers to take their hands off the road and wheel to use them. The infotainment systems could be utilized through several ways, including touch screens and voice commands, and could make calls, change the music, navigate, and send texts.
The bad news is that carmakers haven’t focused enough attention on how quick and easy these are to use. The researchers found that 23 of the 30 vehicles required a very high or high amount of attention to be used properly. The other seven required moderate attention, but none required just low attention.
At Law Offices of Fernando D. Vargas, we’d like to see our roads safer. The sad news is catastrophic injuries happen nearly every day. If you are the victim of a car accident that resulted from a driver being distracted, pleas reach out to us at 909-982-0707 today. We’ll start with a free legal consultation and will let you know what your rights are.
