How distracting are portable GPS devices to drivers? Marketplace, a television program on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, blocked off roads and sent out test drivers to find out.
The volunteers looked for directions while driving down the road with a safety expert in the backseat, tracking how the search affected their performance.
As they punched in addresses, the test drivers swerved, sped and didn’t look at the road road for long stretches — seven seconds in the case of one woman. Paul Green, the brave University of Michigan transportation safety engineer in the back seat, said drivers should never take their eyes off the road for more than two seconds.
For the most part, the drivers underestimated just how much using GPS while on the road impaired them.
Nearly 80 percent of crashes happen when drivers take their eyes off the road, Marketplace reported. Although there are no statistics on how many auto accidents are caused by GPS distraction, a poll commissioned by Marketplace found half of the drivers surveyed programmed their GPS while on the road — even though it’s illegal in some Canadian provinces. One-third of respondents admitted that their GPS distracted them while driving.
Safety advocates say portable GPS makers should redesign their gadgets so they can’t be used while driving. Many GPS devices that come pre-installed in vehicles already automatically disable while the car is in motion.
“They’ve in fact designed them so they can be simply used inappropriately. So lets all pull our heads out of the sand and look at them for the safety issue that they are,” said Brian Patterson of the Ontario Safety League.
Disabling the gadgets is no “silver bullet,” said Steve Koenig of the Consumer Electronics Commission, a trade group representing manufacturers of portable GPS devices. He said some companies are developing voice recognition software, which may reduce distraction. He added that consumers need more education on how to use the devices safely.
Watch the segment at Marketplace.
