Replies to post #205349 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[ergo sum]

As concerns have intensified about driver distraction from electronic gadgets, automakers have increasingly introduced voice-activated systems that allow drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. But a new study says that the most advanced of these systems actually create a different, and worse, safety risk, by taking a driver’s mind, if not eyes, off the road.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/business/voice-activated-in-car-systems-are-called-risky.html?hp

[Mariner*]

The states totally agree with you on that one, it's $2,700 fine levied to a CDL driver operating a commercial vehicle while holding/talking on a cell phone, but... if you have a hands free heads set it's OK. The same would hold true for VRS if you weren't taking your hands off the wheel to perform an innocuous procedure.
They have GPS screens imbedded in the dashboards of these new cars, so I don't see a problem with it other than it's just one more distraction in a litany of distractions.

[Susie924]

Don't you have the thing for your ear?