A new study shows that the increasingly common voice-activated systems in new vehicles pose dangers that are different, and maybe even worse, than those caused by the hand-held devices they are meant to replace.
The June study by the AAA Foundation for Highway Safety found that voice-activated systems divert a driver’s attention from driving safely and interacting with them is more distracting than listening to the radio or talking with passengers.
According to a New York Times article, “the [driver’s] brain is so taxed interacting with the system, that, even with hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, the driver’s reaction time and ability to process what’s happening on the road are impaired.”
