1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Volga bam here with another classic brain 3 00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 1: Stuff episode for as many ads as we do on 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: this network about new cars, I personally happen to own 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: an older one from two thousand seven, so when I 6 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: rent a test drive a newer one, I feel like 7 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,600 Speaker 1: I'm in the incredible future. I could really see myself 8 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,640 Speaker 1: getting used to a reverse camera, or a heads up display, 9 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:29,040 Speaker 1: or safety features that helped keep you in your literal 10 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:33,879 Speaker 1: lane when used correctly. These technologies are great, but we 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,160 Speaker 1: got to wondering is there such thing as getting too 12 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: used to them? Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vulgi bomb here. 13 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 1: As some automotive safety experts have long suspected, recent studies 14 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: show that the more technology we have in our cars, 15 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: the worse we drive, and that includes cars, infottainment systems, 16 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: and active safety systems. The American Automobile Association, or Triple A, 17 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:02,040 Speaker 1: sponsored a study that confirms how distracted drivers get. The 18 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: study was conducted by researchers from the University of Utah 19 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: and released in October. It rated thirty different vehicles infottainment 20 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: systems on their potential to distract drivers. The study found 21 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: that navigation systems were the most demanding distractions, and that 22 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: tuning the radio and programming the navigation took driver's eyes 23 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 1: off the road longer than making a phone call or texting. 24 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: But overall, all infotainment tasks calling or dialing, texting, tuning 25 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,479 Speaker 1: the radio, or programming the navigation were associated with higher 26 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: levels of cognitive demand. The Triple A research supports the 27 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: findings of a University of Michigan study released last summer. 28 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: This study, sponsored by an automaker, was designed to find 29 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: out how drivers were using the automaker's blind spot warning system. Overwhelmingly, 30 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: the researchers found people driving cars with blind spot detection 31 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: systems tended to change lanes without ever checking for traffic 32 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: on their own. These two studies identified two main problems, 33 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: First that using some safety technology distracts drivers more, and 34 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 1: second that drivers use safety systems as a primary source 35 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: of input rather than as a backup. This all hints 36 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: at a third problem that automakers are racing to develop 37 00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: these types of technology, and some are less cautious than others. Combined, 38 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: these factors add up to a lot more drivers paying 39 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,480 Speaker 1: a lot less attention on the road. We spoke with 40 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: Bill Van Tassel, manager of driver training programs at the 41 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: Triple A. He explained the new technologies are sort of 42 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: a double edged sword. If they work properly and drivers 43 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:34,040 Speaker 1: use them properly, there is a net safety benefit. If 44 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 1: it doesn't work properly or the driver changes his or 45 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,080 Speaker 1: her behavior, there will be a net loss of safety. 46 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows traffic 47 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 1: deaths increased from twenty to sixteen by two point six 48 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: percent per one hundred million miles driven, but those deaths 49 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,639 Speaker 1: weren't due to distracted driving. Fatalities caused by distracted driving 50 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: were actually decreased by more than two percent, but the 51 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:01,360 Speaker 1: rise in drivers not paying attention on the road is 52 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 1: still a problem. Right now, many drivers have access to 53 00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:08,359 Speaker 1: some type of autonomous driving technology, usually marketed as active 54 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,760 Speaker 1: safety systems, including blind spot monitoring, self park or park assistants, 55 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: dynamic cruise control, which automatically follows the car in front 56 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 1: at a safe distance, slowing down and speeding up is necessary, 57 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: Lane keep assist, which senses when a car drifts out 58 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: of its lane and helps the driver get back on track. 59 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: Forward collision warning with emergency braking, which senses when a 60 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: car gets too close to the car in front of 61 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: it and automatically applies the brakes, and systems that scan 62 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: for obstacles such as pedestrians, large animals, and cyclists, often 63 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: combined with again automatic emergency braking. It's easy to imagine 64 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: that the more of these systems are found in any 65 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: given car, the less that a car's driver will believe 66 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 1: it's necessary to pay attention to the road. And here's 67 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: where the line gets blurred. Active safety systems are supposed 68 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 1: to be a backup to a driver's skills to step 69 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 1: in if the driver should make an error. Yet autonomous 70 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,839 Speaker 1: and self driving car technology implies by its very name 71 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: that the driver won't really have to do anything behind 72 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: the wheel. Another issue is that most of these systems 73 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: are still relatively new and have only recently begun to 74 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: show up on affordable mainstream cars. That means a lot 75 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,000 Speaker 1: of consumers don't know how to use them. Yet. Further 76 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,560 Speaker 1: complicating matters is that there is no consistency enforced or 77 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: voluntary among the auto manufacturers, so these systems can operate 78 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:28,039 Speaker 1: very differently between brands and models. Eventually, a true self 79 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,479 Speaker 1: driving car will use all of these systems and more 80 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:33,560 Speaker 1: networked together to ensure the car never comes too close 81 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 1: to neighboring traffic or other obstacles. However, even then, and 82 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,840 Speaker 1: certainly now, drivers are still supposed to remain in control 83 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: of their vehicle. Since many drivers already show too much 84 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: confidence in active safety systems, some safety experts worry that 85 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,560 Speaker 1: it will be hard to convince people to pay attention 86 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: to the road in an even more autonomous vehicle. Experts 87 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: suggest that standardizing technology terminology will help consumers understand what 88 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:01,200 Speaker 1: they're buying and how it really works, and further that 89 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: auto manufacturers should work with dealers to make sure that 90 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,359 Speaker 1: information is getting across to their buyers. Van Tassel of 91 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 1: Triple A maintains that ultimately the responsibility lies with the driver. 92 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 1: He said, you should know what your vehicle systems will 93 00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:16,919 Speaker 1: do and what they won't do. You're the one taking 94 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: the vehicle on the road, so you need to be 95 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: the one who steps up and initiates that. As for 96 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: the original question of whether our driving skills are deteriorating, 97 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: Vantassel is a bit more optimistic. He points out that 98 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 1: drivers now need to learn how to use twenty or 99 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: more new kinds of technology, so in a sense, our 100 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: skill sets are expanding. In the future, traditional driving skills 101 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: may no longer be necessary, but fully autonomous cars are 102 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,159 Speaker 1: still a long way off. For the time being, drivers 103 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,120 Speaker 1: should be ever more vigilant and ensure they're using self 104 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:55,920 Speaker 1: driving technology as intended. Today's episode was originally produced by 105 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: Tristan McNeil and it's based on the article do our 106 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: driving skills diminished when technology takes over? On how stuff 107 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,280 Speaker 1: works dot Com written by Charis Threwit. Brain Stuff is 108 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff 109 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,279 Speaker 1: works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four 110 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,280 Speaker 1: more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 111 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.