IAM claims high-tech cars create more distractions for motorists
The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has hit out at car manufacturers that are building new vehicles with such advanced technology that they have become distractions for people whilst driving.
IAM chief executive, Sarah Sillars, says efforts to reduce driver distractions is being undone as new cars are being built by manufacturers who are eager to pack more gadgets into their vehicles.
Sillars claims main concerns are for the highly sophisticated satellite navigation and GPS systems, and the smartphones that have easy connectivity to the Internet and social media. The IAM are keen to implement the same guidelines that the US Department of Transportation and National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) follow.
The NHSTA want to restrict drivers from non-essential forms of technology when vehicles are moving. They also state that no technology should be introduced to cars that take drivers’ attention away from the road for longer than two seconds.
Official data from the US has found in 2011, over 3,000 drivers were killed and another 387,000 were injured by motorists being distracted. A more worrying figure found that more than a quarter of teen-driving crashes in the US are because of distracted drivers.
Sillars said, “We cannot allow the same trends in the USA to happen here. While car makers work constantly to incorporate active and passive safety features into vehicles, making us safer than ever before, they are also guilty of making us too comfortable and making us feel more cosseted.”
With technology constantly changing, the IAM also wants education campaigns to continue to reinforce and update current laws.
“Technology could be a great way of helping to cut the numbers of people killed and seriously injured on our roads. It would be a tragedy if technology became a reason why more, rather than less, people lose their lives,” Sillars added.
