As the planet gets to be more connected so do our cars. Cars such as the Audi A6, Ford Edge, and the Lincoln MKX allow people to browse the Web while in their front seat. People are now able to, stream music, get up-to-date traffic information, but is all this access the best thing while driving? Typically it’s exciting to see technological developments, however, when it comes to our safety on the highway is there such a thing as too much connectivity?
Challenges of the Connected Car
Drivers get distracted and this can lead to accidents. In fact, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports 80 percent of all accidents involve driver inattention within 3 seconds of the collision. So, this being true, consider how distracted the driver would be if there is a funny YouTube video playing on an in-car screen.
Does Tech Distract Drivers?
Anything which takes a driver’s attention from the road may be a threat. Whether it’s texting, making calls, or simply having a friend in the car. Many states have made it criminal to text while driving for this reason. This is the key reason why the news that vehicles are coming out with 3G connections doesn’t make everyone jump for joy.
Browsing the Web Inside Your Car
Soon motorists will have the ability to receive Facebook updates and browse the web on in-car navigation screens. We might even see the introduction of short-range communication allowing drivers who are sharing the road to communicate with each other.
As we said before, we usually consider advancements in technology as a positive thing, however, the possible negative effects that connected cars could have make us stop and think. While having all of these tech features in our cars improves enjoyment on the highway it’s important that they don’t become a disruption to the driver.
