WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Does Technology Make Us Worse Drivers?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Volga bam here with another classic brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff episode for as many ads as we do on

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<v Speaker 1>this network about new cars, I personally happen to own

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<v Speaker 1>an older one from two thousand seven, so when I

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<v Speaker 1>rent a test drive a newer one, I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>I'm in the incredible future. I could really see myself

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<v Speaker 1>getting used to a reverse camera, or a heads up display,

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<v Speaker 1>or safety features that helped keep you in your literal

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<v Speaker 1>lane when used correctly. These technologies are great, but we

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<v Speaker 1>got to wondering is there such thing as getting too

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<v Speaker 1>used to them? Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vulgi bomb here.

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<v Speaker 1>As some automotive safety experts have long suspected, recent studies

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<v Speaker 1>show that the more technology we have in our cars,

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<v Speaker 1>the worse we drive, and that includes cars, infottainment systems,

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<v Speaker 1>and active safety systems. The American Automobile Association, or Triple A,

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<v Speaker 1>sponsored a study that confirms how distracted drivers get. The

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<v Speaker 1>study was conducted by researchers from the University of Utah

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<v Speaker 1>and released in October. It rated thirty different vehicles infottainment

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<v Speaker 1>systems on their potential to distract drivers. The study found

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<v Speaker 1>that navigation systems were the most demanding distractions, and that

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<v Speaker 1>tuning the radio and programming the navigation took driver's eyes

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<v Speaker 1>off the road longer than making a phone call or texting.

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<v Speaker 1>But overall, all infotainment tasks calling or dialing, texting, tuning

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<v Speaker 1>the radio, or programming the navigation were associated with higher

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<v Speaker 1>levels of cognitive demand. The Triple A research supports the

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<v Speaker 1>findings of a University of Michigan study released last summer.

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<v Speaker 1>This study, sponsored by an automaker, was designed to find

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<v Speaker 1>out how drivers were using the automaker's blind spot warning system. Overwhelmingly,

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<v Speaker 1>the researchers found people driving cars with blind spot detection

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<v Speaker 1>systems tended to change lanes without ever checking for traffic

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<v Speaker 1>on their own. These two studies identified two main problems,

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<v Speaker 1>First that using some safety technology distracts drivers more, and

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<v Speaker 1>second that drivers use safety systems as a primary source

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<v Speaker 1>of input rather than as a backup. This all hints

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<v Speaker 1>at a third problem that automakers are racing to develop

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<v Speaker 1>these types of technology, and some are less cautious than others. Combined,

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<v Speaker 1>these factors add up to a lot more drivers paying

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<v Speaker 1>a lot less attention on the road. We spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>Bill Van Tassel, manager of driver training programs at the

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<v Speaker 1>Triple A. He explained the new technologies are sort of

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<v Speaker 1>a double edged sword. If they work properly and drivers

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<v Speaker 1>use them properly, there is a net safety benefit. If

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't work properly or the driver changes his or

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<v Speaker 1>her behavior, there will be a net loss of safety.

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<v Speaker 1>Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows traffic

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<v Speaker 1>deaths increased from twenty to sixteen by two point six

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<v Speaker 1>percent per one hundred million miles driven, but those deaths

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<v Speaker 1>weren't due to distracted driving. Fatalities caused by distracted driving

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<v Speaker 1>were actually decreased by more than two percent, but the

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<v Speaker 1>rise in drivers not paying attention on the road is

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<v Speaker 1>still a problem. Right now, many drivers have access to

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<v Speaker 1>some type of autonomous driving technology, usually marketed as active

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<v Speaker 1>safety systems, including blind spot monitoring, self park or park assistants,

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<v Speaker 1>dynamic cruise control, which automatically follows the car in front

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<v Speaker 1>at a safe distance, slowing down and speeding up is necessary,

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<v Speaker 1>Lane keep assist, which senses when a car drifts out

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<v Speaker 1>of its lane and helps the driver get back on track.

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<v Speaker 1>Forward collision warning with emergency braking, which senses when a

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<v Speaker 1>car gets too close to the car in front of

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<v Speaker 1>it and automatically applies the brakes, and systems that scan

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<v Speaker 1>for obstacles such as pedestrians, large animals, and cyclists, often

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<v Speaker 1>combined with again automatic emergency braking. It's easy to imagine

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<v Speaker 1>that the more of these systems are found in any

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<v Speaker 1>given car, the less that a car's driver will believe

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<v Speaker 1>it's necessary to pay attention to the road. And here's

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<v Speaker 1>where the line gets blurred. Active safety systems are supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to be a backup to a driver's skills to step

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<v Speaker 1>in if the driver should make an error. Yet autonomous

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<v Speaker 1>and self driving car technology implies by its very name

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<v Speaker 1>that the driver won't really have to do anything behind

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<v Speaker 1>the wheel. Another issue is that most of these systems

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<v Speaker 1>are still relatively new and have only recently begun to

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<v Speaker 1>show up on affordable mainstream cars. That means a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of consumers don't know how to use them. Yet. Further

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<v Speaker 1>complicating matters is that there is no consistency enforced or

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<v Speaker 1>voluntary among the auto manufacturers, so these systems can operate

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<v Speaker 1>very differently between brands and models. Eventually, a true self

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<v Speaker 1>driving car will use all of these systems and more

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<v Speaker 1>networked together to ensure the car never comes too close

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<v Speaker 1>to neighboring traffic or other obstacles. However, even then, and

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<v Speaker 1>certainly now, drivers are still supposed to remain in control

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<v Speaker 1>of their vehicle. Since many drivers already show too much

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<v Speaker 1>confidence in active safety systems, some safety experts worry that

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<v Speaker 1>it will be hard to convince people to pay attention

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<v Speaker 1>to the road in an even more autonomous vehicle. Experts

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<v Speaker 1>suggest that standardizing technology terminology will help consumers understand what

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<v Speaker 1>they're buying and how it really works, and further that

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<v Speaker 1>auto manufacturers should work with dealers to make sure that

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<v Speaker 1>information is getting across to their buyers. Van Tassel of

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<v Speaker 1>Triple A maintains that ultimately the responsibility lies with the driver.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, you should know what your vehicle systems will

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<v Speaker 1>do and what they won't do. You're the one taking

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<v Speaker 1>the vehicle on the road, so you need to be

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<v Speaker 1>the one who steps up and initiates that. As for

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<v Speaker 1>the original question of whether our driving skills are deteriorating,

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<v Speaker 1>Vantassel is a bit more optimistic. He points out that

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<v Speaker 1>drivers now need to learn how to use twenty or

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<v Speaker 1>more new kinds of technology, so in a sense, our

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<v Speaker 1>skill sets are expanding. In the future, traditional driving skills

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<v Speaker 1>may no longer be necessary, but fully autonomous cars are

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<v Speaker 1>still a long way off. For the time being, drivers

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<v Speaker 1>should be ever more vigilant and ensure they're using self

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<v Speaker 1>driving technology as intended. Today's episode was originally produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tristan McNeil and it's based on the article do our

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<v Speaker 1>driving skills diminished when technology takes over? On how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot Com written by Charis Threwit. Brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four

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