Are the increasing amounts of tech in our cars driving us to distraction?

Digital distraction is the curse of our age, typically manifesting itself in the form of compulsive scrolling or digital multitasking for hours on end. Distracted driving may well be an additional hex visited upon those who drive. The National reported earlier this year that distraction was one of the leading causes of accidents and injury on our roads.

We often shorthand the term “distracted driving” to mean using your phone while driving, even though it is a much broader term. It typically covers issues such as slow reaction times, inattentiveness to other road users and reckless driving that leads to a greater proclivity to risk-taking. In its simplest form, it is not keeping your eyes on the road because you are distracted by something, most likely an alert or message, or possibly someone else in the cabin while driving.

Experts say inattentiveness settles into several categories – auditory, cognitive, manual and visual – with mobile phone use the most common cause of distraction from driving. Reaching for your phone to perform a task or read a note while driving may count as all four types of distraction and is, understandably, a punishable offence, according to our road laws. Motorists caught using their phones are liable to a Dh800 ($218) fine and four black points being added to their licence for a period of 12 months.

But is it technology in general that is to blame?

A provocative piece in the Economist this week titled “Are touchscreens in cars dangerous?” wondered whether the primary cause of driving distraction is in-car technology rather than the smartphone specifically. The cabin design of most current cars features large touchscreens shackled to the centre part of the dashboards, aping the technology that exists in all parts of our lives and offering ample opportunity for distraction while driving.

The piece argued that these in-car screens with their layered multifunctionality and an absence of buttons have become a significant in-built diversion to drivers, with a range of a vehicle’s features being run from the same unit, such as climate control, GPS systems and trip data.

Academic study cited in the piece found that performing a simple task on a car’s touchscreen, such as adjusting the temperature, might take several seconds to complete as the driver scrolled through one or more sub-menus on screen. In the past, a driver might reach for a particular physical button on the car’s console to make those changes and only flick their eyes off the road momentarily to do so, but a complicated touchscreen might require greater attention and, inevitably, distraction.

We may also unconsciously mimic the behavioural compulsions of our regular smartphone use when we sit behind the wheel of a car with a giant screen situated in proximity. Intentionally or not, we often welcome digital interruption rather than push it away.

The suggestion is that voice-activated functionality is an obvious solution to this problem, although many might testify that there can be significant hurdles in that process. The road to exasperation and distraction is littered with underperforming voice-activated assistants. Voice-to-text messaging is not always considered especially safe either, given the possibility of trial and error inherent in that process of message transcription and delivery.

Technophobes and traditionalists might argue for a different form of digital ban while driving via the reintroduction of car cabin architecture with big clusters of buttons, dials and switchgear that you’d find in analogue consoles of yesteryear. But a bit like the debate about physical and digital media in general in the cultural world, these are largely unwinnable arguments that depend on hard-baked tastes. Trying to navigate by physical map in days of old could be just as distracting as following visual and voice instructions on a modern GPS. Neither answer is a perpetual panacea.

It will also be interesting to see where car buyer tastes settle in hot-weather countries over longer periods. Even when setting technology distraction to the side, the other issue with large multi-function screens in cars in high-heat countries is their likelihood to fail or malfunction due to sensitivity when cabin temperatures soar.

While neither issue is likely to present itself during manufacturer warranty periods for new cars, they are legacy problems as technology-rich vehicles grow old. Replacing a burnt-out information unit or malfunctioning multifunction touchscreen will run up a repair bill of thousands of dirhams. Maybe there is an argument for buttons over screens after all.

The tried and tested way to mitigate against potential heat damage and costly repairs in hot-weather countries is largely low-tech – park in shady areas when you can or use dashboard covers, tinted windows and sunshades – which is where digital distraction debates also tend to settle: turn off notifications, leave your phone in another room and so on.

But if we stay wedded to devices in other areas of our lives, distraction will remain a clear danger for those same people when they get behind the wheel. Recognising that fact is the first step to recovery and safer roads. The onus is on the individual rather than the technology that is always at their fingertips.