Federal agency issues new distracted driving guidelines for auto makers

May 09, 2013

One of the more common forms of distractions for drivers comes from devices in vehicles. People take their eyes off the road while driving to tune radios, adjust temperature controls, and consult g.p.s. devices. As technology advances, the number of electronics available in automobiles grows, making distracted driving even more of a problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued new guidelines for auto manufacturers in April 2013 to help them make vehicles that reduce driver distraction.

NHTSA proposed guidelines

The NHTSA has determined that drivers should only take their eyes off the road for about two seconds at a time, for a total of only 12 seconds, when performing any function in their vehicles. The guidelines suggest that certain functions should never be allowed to occur while the vehicle is in motion, including:

- Entering text for text messages and internet searches
- Video phoning or conferencing
- Reading text from text messages, emails, internet sites, or social media

The guidelines also advise against allowing devices that display video, text or internet sites in the vehicle. The guidelines state that vehicles may have displays of maps or location information, but the maps should not be three-dimensional or photorealistic. The guidelines limit the number of characters that electronics like stereos display to 30.

The new guidelines that the NHTSA has proposed will not go into effect for three years. Initially the NHTSA wanted them in place in two years, but auto makers objected that was too little time. The guidelines are voluntary, and the NHTSA does not advocate modifying vehicles already in existence that do not meet the guidelines. The guidelines apply to vehicles manufactured going forward.

The NHTSA reported that the guidelines for auto makers are the first step in a three-phase plan to address distracted driving and reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents. The next step is to release guidelines for cell phone makers, followed by guidelines for makers of other electronic devices.

Distracted driving study results

The NHTSA guidelines come in conjunction with the results of two studies of driver behavior also released in April 2013. Researchers interviewed about 6,000 drivers aged 16 years and older for the National Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors. About 50 percent of the respondents said they are willing to accept incoming phone calls while driving, and approximately one-fourth of drivers reported they were willing to place phone calls while driving.

The NHTSA's naturalistic study of driver behavior called The Impact of Hand-Held and Hands-Free Cell Phone Use on Driving Performance and Safety Critical Event Risk revealed that drivers who use hand-held cell phones and other electronic devices increase their chances of being involved in an auto accident by three times. Sending a text message while driving increases the risk of crashing by two times, as it takes a driver's eyes off the road for about 23.3 seconds on average.

Speak with an attorney

Electronic devices installed in vehicles may seem safe. After all, engineers designed the vehicles to include them. However, this feeling of security is deceptive. Such devices distract drivers and lead to auto accidents. If you have been injured in an auto accident caused by another driver, talk to an attorney with experience in accident reconstruction who can help you recover just and proper compensation.

Article provided by Law Office of Ruben Ortiz
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