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Study Claims Using CarPlay While Driving is More Dangerous Than Texting
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Have you try it?
Since I started to use Alexa, I find Siri so so so slow and distracting from my main task
Are you using Alexa through phone or something like Amazon Echo Auto? And, how does Alexa compare to Google?
You know what I like to do, if I’m not using the interface for anything [I.e. GPS/climate/media], I actually turn the display off (I have UConnect in my Scat Pack that has a specific button for this), it’s less of a distraction, and especially driving at night, I don’t need to have the display blinding/distracting when driving.
CarPlay does have a long way to go. Especially because Siri is still next to useless.
My partner just got Carplay and wants to use Waze. He couldn’t figure out how to use it without typing on the phone.
I prefer Apple Maps but Siri is useless to enter a destination.
still, the only way I can imagine CarPlay being worse than holding a phone in your hand is because the user is less familiar with the interface.
My partner just got Carplay and wants to use Waze. He couldn’t figure out how to use it without typing on the phone.
I prefer Apple Maps but Siri is useless to enter a destination.
still, the only way I can imagine CarPlay being worse than holding a phone in your hand is because the user is less familiar with the interface.
Yes, should read before....
It was receiving text only. Text played over car audio. In one case by touching once on car touch screen to start play, and in another case by using driver’s voice to tell car to play the text.
I.e., no reading of text with eyes, no sending of text, and no interaction with the cell phone whatsoever.
They did not test mostly illegal (and seriously ignorant) texting actions, like phone in lap or phone in hand, or sending texts.
Android auto, then texting, then CarPlay?? Telling Siri to do something vs telling Google to do something is literally no different in terms of mental effort. The fact their "results" have them so far apart is a clear indicator they didn't do something properly in this extremely limited study.
CarPlay has been fantastic for me. I'll admit I would text from time to time in my previous non-CarPlay vehicle. Not proud of it. In fact, I'm grateful to have CarPlay now because it's without a doubt far safer than texting.
"IAM Roadsmart", more like IAM Roadstupid. They should have their methods and intentions seriously scrutinized.
CarPlay has been fantastic for me. I'll admit I would text from time to time in my previous non-CarPlay vehicle. Not proud of it. In fact, I'm grateful to have CarPlay now because it's without a doubt far safer than texting.
"IAM Roadsmart", more like IAM Roadstupid. They should have their methods and intentions seriously scrutinized.
I haven't read the article or rest of the thread (yet), but this wouldn't surprise me.
The PodCast UI sucks IMO compared to just using my iPhone to find/select podcasts. Once it's playing, the UI is fine for pausing/skipping.
Then there's Siri, which usually gets my requests wrong. There have been times when I've tried asking her for things and she's screwed it up so many times that I honestly feel a rage building up, which probably isn't good to be feeling while you're driving.
The PodCast UI sucks IMO compared to just using my iPhone to find/select podcasts. Once it's playing, the UI is fine for pausing/skipping.
Then there's Siri, which usually gets my requests wrong. There have been times when I've tried asking her for things and she's screwed it up so many times that I honestly feel a rage building up, which probably isn't good to be feeling while you're driving.
The only really big question I had is how much experience each of these drivers had at doing each task. Were the people texting and driving more used to it than using CarPlay or Android Auto? Were they more used to doing that than talking to Siri? I rarely have issues with Siri now that I've learned the way that I have to talk when commanding it. I for sure find it EASIER to find a podcast on CarPlay than I do on my iPhone. I can't imagine this type of test being a good comparison.
On a REALLY BIG positive note, it's good to see that the Drink-Drive limits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are as safe as they are. Considering that this is the same as a lot of states in the US, I feel like it's great that everyone is getting that law right.
On a REALLY BIG positive note, it's good to see that the Drink-Drive limits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are as safe as they are. Considering that this is the same as a lot of states in the US, I feel like it's great that everyone is getting that law right.
A new study conducted by driving academy and UK independent road safety charity IAM RoadSmart suggests that using Apple CarPlay while driving is more dangerous than texting or holding a phone to converse.
Drivers reacted 36 percent more slowly when using the voice function of CarPlay, and 57 percent more slowly when using CarPlay's touch functionality. Comparatively, texting caused 35 percent slower response times, and using a hand-held phone caused 46 percent slower response times.
The study found that using CarPlay or Android Auto with touch control caused drivers to struggle with controlling the vehicle's position in the lane and keeping a consistent speed and headway to the vehicle in front. Some of the study's other findings:
It's worth noting that this CarPlay test involved just 20 participants, with 20 other participants using Android Auto, which is a small test group and may not be representative of the usage experiences of all CarPlay owners.
- Participants failed to react as often to a stimulus on the road ahead when engaging with either Android Auto or Apple CarPlay - with reaction times being more than 50 per cent slower
- Reaction time to a stimulus on the road ahead was higher when selecting music through Spotify while using Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
- The impact on reaction time when using touch control (rather than voice control) was worse than texting while driving
- Use of either system via touch control caused drivers to take their eyes off the road for longer than NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) recommended guidelines
- Participants underestimated by as much as 5 seconds the time they thought they spent looking away from the road when engaging with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay via touch control.
It's also not clear how familiar the participants were with the CarPlay interface before beginning the test or whether they had used it prior to the testing, but IAM RoadSmart says there was a "comprehensive familiarization process."
The test consisted of asking participants to complete three drives on the same simulated test route: a control drive, a voice-enabled drive (interacting with CarPlay via voice commands) and a touch-enabled drive (using CarPlay's touch controls only).
The route included two music-related tasks accessing music on Spotify and BBC radio while following behind a car (2.4 miles), two navigation tasks to a restaurant or a petrol station in a simulation of erratic motorway traffic (5.6 miles), and a figure eight loop done while reading texts and making a call (two miles).
Each participant was asked to react by flashing their lights when a red bar appeared on the screen, which was done to measure reaction time to an external event. These red light flashes appeared at four times during the drive when the driver was engaged with CarPlay.
Driving performance was measured by reaction time to the red bar, behavior measures like speed, lane position, and headway, eye gaze behavior, and self-reported performance.
Given the results of the study, IAM RoadSmart is calling on industry and government to "openly test and approve" CarPlay and Android Auto to develop "consistent standards that genuinely help minimize driver distraction." The full distracted driving study conducted by IAM RoadSmart can be read on the company's website [PDF].
Article Link: Study Claims Using CarPlay While Driving is More Dangerous Than Texting
That's because in UK the wheel is on the wrong side of the car and right handed people (majority) have to use left hand to navigate the carplay, having to pay more attention to the screen drivers lose hand-eye coordination while driving.
I think it depends on the person. Some people can't safely chew gum and drive at the same time. I've seen people get into arguments over speaker phone in the car and become completely distracted. Someone could be daydreaming about eating and get into a crash.
I have been using Apple CarPlay for the past 2 years and found no problems. I use waze for navigation, Siri to read and send text messaged. Siri to make phone calls. This research has barely any controls set up. The number of participants used is way to small to make proper outcomes. There should be an equal number of male:female ration.
Years ago, there was a tragic case in CA when a driver took out a pack of cyclist while reaching into the back seat to get a cassette.
Thank You! Exactly the same counter I have. Plus people and pets walking.
Yes why the heck does it do that garbage?! I'll even have the map up while on a call, and after it ends it goes to the home page!!!!
Smoking cannabis while driving has never impaired my driving - in fact, that's when I drive the best/fastest and most confidently. Talking to Siri, on the other hand,... whoah!
According to the study, there were only 46 participants AND it was conducted in the UK. Two problems with this:
- The sample size is far too small to draw any valid or meaningful conclusions.
- In the UK, vehicles are typically right-hand-drive, which means the participants would have had to use their left hands to operate the touchscreens while driving. That's the non-dominant hand for at least 70% of the population, so naturally there'd be a decrease in dexterity and an increase in distractedness. You'd likely get significantly different results in a left-hand-drive vehicle.
Just to illustrate how annoying Siri can be (which is 100x more annoying and dangerous when driving), I took this screenshot the other day. No joke, Siri hears me right, writes down my query perfectly, and then does this. I don't even know how this is possible.
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Yeah I'd also like to never touch my phone when driving, but this requires me to do so.
Press Home > It goes to the home screen > Scroll through the home screens to find whatever app you were using before Siri ruined it
Or you could touch the blue bar at the top of the screen, but only once you've pressed Home first. So that's still 2 things to press.
But do you think there's any reason for the black, empty Siri screen to just stay on the screen, indefinitely, after it has served its purpose? It's not doing anything anymore, it's not listening for queries (you have to say Hey Siri again or long press the home button for it to listen so it's not that). What's the point?
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Yeah I'd also like to never touch my phone when driving, but this requires me to do so.
Press Home > It goes to the home screen > Scroll through the home screens to find whatever app you were using before Siri ruined it
Or you could touch the blue bar at the top of the screen, but only once you've pressed Home first. So that's still 2 things to press.
But do you think there's any reason for the black, empty Siri screen to just stay on the screen, indefinitely, after it has served its purpose? It's not doing anything anymore, it's not listening for queries (you have to say Hey Siri again or long press the home button for it to listen so it's not that). What's the point?
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