According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 3,308 people were killed and 290,000 were injured in car accidents in 2022 due to distracted driving. The NHTSA also defines distracted driving as “any activity that diverts attention from driving,” meaning texting someone on your smartphone is not the only cause of a lack of focus behind the wheel.
Eating a meal, arguing with another vehicle occupant, or even yawning are all forms of distracted driving. With the release of popular navigation/infotainment systems Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, we are forced to ask ourselves: Are these platforms safe to be installed in a car?
A Boulder car accident attorney can provide legal assistance if you have been injured in a car accident.
History of In-Vehicle Infotainment Systems
Since the release of Buick’s ‘Graphic Control Center’ in 1986 for their Riviera sedan, digital infotainment systems have been attempting to replace the clunky and visually unappealing radio head units. Over the years, innovation flourished and this new vehicle computer screen not only controlled the radio, but also other features of the car such as A/C, and even included navigational/GPS capabilities.
With Bluetooth, these digital infotainment systems joined the hands-free craze and became an alternative to cellphones when answering phone calls. With the click of a button, your car’s infotainment system could answer your mobile phone’s calls and connect to your vehicle’s speakers to amplify the sound. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were released in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and made these infotainment systems even more seamless for users.
Are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Safe?
Even though Apple Carplay and Android Auto have “hands-free” capabilities, there are still many aspects to the systems that can cause you to be distracted when driving. This can be as simple as plugging in a new location on Google Maps or choosing a new song on Spotify. Again, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto do support voice-activated searches on their applications, but the fact that they still have the option to physically touch a keyboard on the screen allows distracted driving to occur.
A UK study on how Apple CarPlay and Android Auto affects drivers found that “The impact on reaction time when using touch control (rather than voice control) was worse than texting while driving.” With the touchscreen being not as responsive as most smartphones today and with people not having the same familiarity of where applications are located on the infotainment system, drivers are simply more likely to be distracted.
How to Avoid Distracted Driving
So now that we know Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can definitely cause you to be distracted, here are some tips from the NHTSA themselves to prevent distracted driving:
- If you have to text, pull over to a safe location and park your car — only then should you read or send the text message.
- Appoint your passenger as the “designated texter” to respond to calls or messages.
- Activate your phone’s “Do Not Disturb” feature, silence notifications, or your put phone away in the trunk so you won’t be tempted to respond.
- Since you cannot put your CarPlay in the trunk, utilize the voice command features if you really need to send a text or call someone.
- Speak up if you see someone texting and driving and ask them to put their phone away.
- Have your destination loaded on your maps application prior to getting in the car.