Unsafe at Any Bandwidth?

"Anyone who has been on the road lately knows that what was once only fiction in our cars has become reality. Now, Batman and James Bond are not the only drivers to enjoy the benefits of in-vehicle technology."

So begins "Along for the Ride: Reducing Driver Distractions," a new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The report offers guidelines to state governments coping with safety issues arising from the increasing automotive use of cell phones, e-mail readers, and other such telematics devices--products in which computing and telecommunications converge.

And make no mistake--their use is increasing. According to a report by InStat/MDR, telematics technologies are turning cars into mobile information, business, and entertainment platforms. The InStat report predicts that "All cars will eventually be produced with some degree of embedded telematics systems," and that the number of subscribers will increase from 27,000 in 2001 to over 5 million by 2006.

That doesn't mean 5 million eyes-off-the-road, e-mail-reading drivers plowing into your car. In fact, telematics can be used to save lives. For instance, General Motors' OnStar system will automatically notify an emergency switchboard if an equipped car's airbags are deployed. But the greater the number of telematics subscribers, the greater the use of distracting, potentially more dangerous features.

Driving With Distraction

Distraction, everyone agrees, is the big issue. American Automobile Association spokesperson Atle Erlingsson believes all driver cell phone activity is dangerous because you're not thinking about the road. "We encourage people not to talk on cell phones while driving, [and that] includes built-in hands-free models.... Driving requires your complete attention....[It's] not just about cell phones. It's about radios, passengers, being distracted by objects."

Few drivers are willing to keep the radio off and the passengers silent. And many now insist on telephones and other connectivity. For companies like GM's OnStar, which offers hands-free cell phone, news, and e-mail services, the goal is to reduce the dangers of distraction. The system uses only three buttons on the rear-view mirror, and handles almost everything through voice control and verbal read-outs. According to OnStar Vice President William Ball, "Telematics must take into account that a driver's primary function is safety."

Ball says the approach works. An internal General Motors study covering the period October 1996 to May 2001 showed that out of 8 million OnStar calls, only two were taking place at the time of a crash. Governments also tend to see hands-free devices as part of the solution. Most laws banning the use of phones by drivers specify handsets and don't apply to earpieces.

The Reports Are In

In developing its report, the National Conference of State Legislatures had to contend with the AAA and GM, as well as other companies and organizations with conflicting agendas. Nevertheless, the NCSL managed to get agreement on 14 principles. Everyone agreed, for instance, that drivers shouldn't have access to televisions; that they should be allowed to use telephones in emergencies; and that state driver education programs should include discussions of driver distractions. They could not agree, however, on whether states should restrict telephones or Internet access.

Yet another new report, released last week from England, came down very heavily on the side of regulation. Tests by the Transport Research Laboratory, commissioned by insurance company Direct Line Limited, suggested that driving while talking on the phone is more dangerous than driving while drunk. And while the worst results came while using handsets, drivers with hands-free phones also did poorly.

According to the tests, talking on a handset slowed a driver's reactions an average of 48 percent. Hands-free talkers were slowed by a less horrific but still serious 28 percent. By comparison, testers who were drunk to the legal limit had reflexes impaired by only 13 percent. In part because of these test results, Parliament is considering a ban on handheld phones while driving.

How do these tests effect the newer, Internet-based telematics technologies? According to Direct Line's Road Safety Campaign Manager Dominic Burch, "Further research is clearly necessary. However, the best advice to drivers is [to] concentrate fully on the road."