Your kids: Are they safe in their cars?
Many new 2017 and 2018 cars have built in “infotainment systems.” The systems can send text messages, check social media and surf the web – functions that are extremely popular with teens. Too many teens are already using cell phones while driving – an exceedingly dangerous kind of distracted driving. What if they use infotainment systems while driving?
People who drive while they are distracted risk having a serious accident. That risk is significantly higher for teens, especially when correlated with cell phone use. Auto accidents are the number one killer of teens. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), six teens between the ages of 16 and 19 “die every day from motor vehicle injuries.”
Technology is addictive, especially for teens
A study cited in a January 2018 article in the New York Times concluded that “half of teenagers felt addicted to their cell phones” and 78 percent admitted checking them hourly. Some infotainment systems perform functions that are dangerous to use behind the wheel, including those most likely to tempt teens.
A 2017 University of Utah study examined 30 infotainment systems in new 2017 cars. According to Dr. David Strayer, the author of the Utah study, none of the systems “produced a low level of demand for the driver’s attention.” The study concluded that infotainment systems are “more distracting than cellphone use or even texting while driving.” The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAA) funded the study. It estimates that “1 in every 3 drivers on the road uses an infotainment system while driving.”
Beyond addiction, design plays a role in the danger
A technology expert told NPR in October 2017, “with a touch screen, you always have to look down. It takes a lot more attention to do that than it does to just grab a volume knob.” That’s because the brain “can’t automatically map” infotainment systems the way it does the radio or the AC button.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), says it takes five seconds on average to send or read a text. At 55 miles an hour, drivers on cell phones reading or sending texts travel the length of a football field. Since it takes 40 seconds to use an infotainment navigation system at 25 miles per hour, they’ll travel the length of four football fields.
Wayne Wright says: Buy cars for kids that limit infotainment systems
According to Consumer Reports, while a vehicle is moving, some infotainment “functions are usually deactivated.” That’s the car you want to buy for your teen’s graduation from high school. The American Trial Lawyers Association rates Wayne Wright one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America. His national legal awards, won over 40 years of representing victims, prove he is an outstanding advocate if you or your teen have an accident. Calls to the firm and evaluations are free. You’ll pay nothing until Wayne Wright wins your case.