You’re probably thinking that Google Glass will help you a lot with staying in touch with friends while driving and still be safe. Well, you’re somehow wrong as a study reveals the device will get you distracted almost the same as a normal phone does.
Photo: UCF
A new University of Central Florida study led by Ben Sawyer concluded texting Glass users are still distracted and should avoid such actions. Driving while distracted is a serious matter and it leads to at least 1.6 million crashes each year in the US alone.
The study, which by the way is the first to test Google Glass texting behind the wheel, had 40 persons in their 20s drive in a car simulator with either Glass or a smartphone and were forced to react to a vehicle ahead slamming on its brakes.
Comparing the data resulted Glass users were no better at hitting their brakes in time, but after their close call returned to driving normally more quickly.
“While Glass-using drivers demonstrated some areas of improved performance in recovering from the brake event, the device did not improve their response to the event itself,” Sawyer said. “More importantly, for every measure we recorded, messaging with either device negatively impacted driving performance.Compared to those just driving, multitaskers reacted more slowly, preserved less headway during the brake event, and subsequently adopted greater following distances.”
Unlike a normal phone that requires you to look away from the road in order to text, Google Glass projects messages right in front of your eyes, enabling the option of using head movements and voice commands to respond. Still, this is extra information for you to get bombarded with while driving which is never too good.
Bottom line: stay away from distracting things while driving, your life and others’ depend on your ability to detect dangers and avoid them. If you need to use your phone or anything else that will need your attention, pull over and do it.
The study, which by the way is the first to test Google Glass texting behind the wheel, had 40 persons in their 20s drive in a car simulator with either Glass or a smartphone and were forced to react to a vehicle ahead slamming on its brakes.
Results are unsettling
Comparing the data resulted Glass users were no better at hitting their brakes in time, but after their close call returned to driving normally more quickly.
“While Glass-using drivers demonstrated some areas of improved performance in recovering from the brake event, the device did not improve their response to the event itself,” Sawyer said. “More importantly, for every measure we recorded, messaging with either device negatively impacted driving performance.Compared to those just driving, multitaskers reacted more slowly, preserved less headway during the brake event, and subsequently adopted greater following distances.”
Unlike a normal phone that requires you to look away from the road in order to text, Google Glass projects messages right in front of your eyes, enabling the option of using head movements and voice commands to respond. Still, this is extra information for you to get bombarded with while driving which is never too good.
Bottom line: stay away from distracting things while driving, your life and others’ depend on your ability to detect dangers and avoid them. If you need to use your phone or anything else that will need your attention, pull over and do it.
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