Residents in Georgia hear more about safe driving now than ever. Drivers everywhere attempt to adjust their driving habits and navigate the roads safely. Some may use hands-free tech in an attempt to do that.
But how safe is this technology in reality? Does it offer extra protection to drivers? Today we will answer that question.
Sources of driver distraction
Some companies support the use of hands-free devices. The National Safety Council has other ideas. They state that hands-free technology does not guarantee a driver’s safety. Why is this? According to them, it does not address all areas of driver distraction.
The three primary areas of driver distraction include visual, physical and cognitive distraction. Visual distraction involves things that take your eyes off the road. Hands-free tech does help with this. Voice commands and speakers allow you to use devices without looking at the screen.
Physical distractions involve taking your hands off the wheel. As the name implies, hands-free devices do this. Using voice commands, you do not need to touch a screen to operate a device. You can ask for directions or listen to emails without ever touching your device.
The dangers of cognitive distractions
But what about cognitive distractions? This is where hands-free tech runs into its biggest hurdle. Cognitive distractions include anything that takes your mind off of driving. A huge number of actions fall under this category. Some examples include changing your music or holding conversations with passengers. Hands-free tech unfortunately cannot address this issue. In fact, hands-free tech is a cognitive distraction by definition. Because of that, you cannot guarantee driver safety with it.
