7 ms·

I think GPS is secondary: you can easily get a mount for it. Based on experience, the most likely explanation is texting or voice calls. When I got a new car w

by mildbow 10y ago

I think GPS is secondary: you can easily get a mount for it. Based on experience, the most likely explanation is texting or voice calls. When I got a new car with bluetooth calling, all of a sudden I was fumbling a lot less. A call is now about the same level of distraction as having a passenger or 2. Texting however, I have no idea. Maybe something that moves texting to voice, but I haven't seen anything actually make that work. And, it's distracting enough that I just don't text while driving: sending ETA updates or w/e isn't worth risking my life over.

tzs 10y ago
> When I got a new car with bluetooth calling, all of a sudden I was fumbling a lot less. A call is now about the same level of distraction as having a passenger or 2. Most studies that have actually tested it have found that talking with someone on a phone, even if hands free, is much more distracting than talking to a passenger. A big factor is that a passenger is much more likely to be aware of road and traffic conditions and stop the conversation during situations where the driver needs to pay extra attention to driving.
- mildbow 10y ago
  Sounds plausible that it's more distracting, but I'm not convinced that the difference is more varied than found among different types of passengers (back-seat driver/kids/dumb friends/audiobook(?) etc) If you have a few studies that show more than that, I would be glad to check it out.
  - tzs 10y ago
    I don't know of any that have looked at different types of passengers. They have usually just compared an adult passenger talking with the driver to an adult on a phone talking with the driver. Here was a recent study that was pretty interesting: https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/204502 https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/204502 Here's an older one: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081201081917.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081201081917.h...
    - mildbow 10y ago
      thanks, I appreciate the links :)

by mildbow 10y ago

tzs 10y ago

> When I got a new car with bluetooth calling, all of a sudden I was fumbling a lot less. A call is now about the same level of distraction as having a passenger or 2. Most studies that have actually tested it have found that talking with someone on a phone, even if hands free, is much more distracting than talking to a passenger. A big factor is that a passenger is much more likely to be aware of road and traffic conditions and stop the conversation during situations where the driver needs to pay extra attention to driving.

mildbow 10y ago
Sounds plausible that it's more distracting, but I'm not convinced that the difference is more varied than found among different types of passengers (back-seat driver/kids/dumb friends/audiobook(?) etc) If you have a few studies that show more than that, I would be glad to check it out.
- tzs 10y ago
  I don't know of any that have looked at different types of passengers. They have usually just compared an adult passenger talking with the driver to an adult on a phone talking with the driver. Here was a recent study that was pretty interesting: https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/204502 https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/204502 Here's an older one: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081201081917.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081201081917.h...
  - mildbow 10y ago
    thanks, I appreciate the links :)