Video: Multimedia Systems and Distracted Driving
By Cars.com Editors
March 1, 2012
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About the video
Cars.com Industry Analyst Kelsey Mays and Allstate safety expert Mark Woirol discuss the future of multimedia systems and how they relate to distracted driving.
Transcript
(bright music) [Announcer] cars.com Auto Review. Hi I'm Kelsey Mays for cars.com. In new cars these days multimedia systems are proliferating.
They're spreading across a lotta cars as auto makers replace traditional center controls with a large touchscreen. Unfortunately, that's also introducing some driver distraction issues. Here to talk about the ramifications, we've got safety expert Mark Woirol from Allstate. Mark thanks for joining us today. Kelsey thanks for having me on, I appreciate it. So let's talk about these systems. I mean, what are they? Kind of, what are some of the issues posed? You know the systems in the market today have come so far in the last two to three years. You had systems that three years ago worked off a basis of an embedded module, that connected to a satellite cellular connection, to now the systems are built-in to where a Bluetooth connection and vehicle to an iPhone can run the systems on the car and the Apps that are out there. <v Kelsey Mays>So, drivers and their passengers are more connected than ever these days with Facebook and other social media and what have you, how do we convince them that while they're behind the wheel driving is the first priority. Great question, one of the biggest things when you hit it on the head is that all the Apps that are available to them, they have Google, they have Yelp, they have Pandora, all these Apps. They still need to focus on driving the vehicle and watching on the road versus touching the screens that are out there. But mark aren't these systems safer than someone having one hand thumbing away on a smartphone and the other hand on the wheel. Absolutely, Kelsey. If we look at the systems three years ago, you had little knobs and buttons that they had to push so, they're focusing more on what's out there, than today's system, while it's touchscreen, it makes it a lot easier for them. The screens are bigger. They're typically about an eight inch screen versus a four inch screen. So, the ability to actually get in to see what's out there is good, but it gets back to, they still need to be focusing on the road and what's going on in front of them versus the Apps. So it sounds like we've come a long ways from where these screens were for five or even 10 years ago. What's been the reaction from some of the regulators. I know that Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood has been talking about how he's on this kinda crusade against distracted driving. What's been the reaction there? Distracted driving comes in a lot of different forms. It can come in texting, it can come in talking on a cell phone, it can come in using an infotainment center, it can come in to simply talking in a car such as we're doing right now. At the end of the day, it gets back to paying attention. If you look at the current statistics that are out there, 25% of all reported collisions are a result of distracted driving, Out of that 25%, 80% are three seconds or less to impact. Three seconds not focusing on the road is a big deal. Allstate's a big proponent of team education and no texting. So, we're a big proponent on these systems on what they can do, but also the fact that we need to pay attention to the road. <v Kelsey Mays>So, automakers wanna increase profitability of cars, and this is one way, and how do we reconcile that with safety and consumers wanting to stay connected? I think when you look at what's available out there on the systems, the government, as well as the insurance industry and other researchers are keenly aware of what the systems can do. And there is a lot of dialogue going on in regards to how do you work through the systems to give the customer what they want, but also in fact, have safety built into these systems? Some manufacturers do better than others in regards to what the systems can do. Functionality is actually taken out of some systems while the car is in motion, which again is a good thing to where there's not a distraction with the driver. We do have a long way to go, but I feel that based on where we're at today, all parties are at least talking about it. <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog KickingTires.net.