New Smart Technology Driving Motorists to Distraction

Young drivers are being warned not to become complacent about the use of smart technologies when driving.

Recent studies by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) have found that using a smartphone whilst driving can slow reaction times by as much as 2.5 seconds.

TRL has been researching driver distraction and, most interestingly, found that fewer drivers are texting or making calls on their phones behind the wheel, opting instead to check emails and access social media sites.

Using a mobile phone, smart or otherwise, is still an illegal offence in the UK but the emergence of smart technology, such as smartwatches, poses new problems. Currently it is legal to drive while wearing a smartwatch, much as it is to drive whilst carrying a phone on your person.

There is no specific legislation for using wearable technology but the Department of Transport is urging motorists to use their common sense and not to view screens that are not relevant to their driving experience.

Professor Andrew Parkes, chief scientist at TRL, said; "These watches have very small screens, which take longer for the eye and brain to adjust to. Add in the fact that people will typically hold up a watch in front of their face when they want to read it and you have the potential for drivers to be very distracted indeed.”

He added, "The issue isn't so much that people's reaction times are much slower, it's that people who are distracted by smartphones completely miss entire events,"

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