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Meeting with Ford
A few days after I returned from participating in the Distracted Driving Forum in New York, I was invited to talk to Paul Russell, a Ford executive, in town to promote SYNC at the Twin Cities Auto Show. SYNC is Ford's voice-activated system that works with Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones and digital media players to provide hands-free calling, music selection, etc. with the touch of a button.
Interestingly enough, none of the people I met and talked with knew that I had been in New York on Monday discussing distracted driving issues with Consumer Reports and the U.S. Department of Transportation. In fact, they didn't even know I was an attorney until I gave them my business card. All they knew was that I had a blog and I had written about distracted driving in the past.
Multitasking While Driving
Not only have I written about distracted driving and recently participated in a panel discussion on this issue, I have researched and read numerous articles, interviews, statistics and tweets on the topic. I have come down hard saying it's not OK to EVER use your phone, hand-held or hands-free, while driving, regardless of whether the law allows it or not.
Research done at the University of Utah has shown that only 2.5% of us can truly multitask. This means that 97.5% can't do two or more things at one time and give full attention to all of the tasks engaged in at one time, but many of us probably think we can. I know, as a mom who is forced to multitask much of the day, I like to think I'm in that 2.5%, but if I'm being honest about it, I know I'm not.
Hands-Free Disengagement
Based on this research and other studies, I think that even hands-free options are distracting. Yes, it's true; you can keep your eyes on the road while you make a call, answer a call and have a conversation. The problem is that your brain is engaging with the person on the phone and the conversation you are having, not on the road on which you are driving. You can operate your vehicle and stay within your lane, but your reaction time is delayed: you may miss a turn, an exit, a stop sign, a red light, notice a bit too late that a car is swerving into your lane or a dog or child is darting out from a yard.
An argument that I've heard often is that talking hands-free is no different than having a conversation with a passenger in your vehicle, but there is a crucial difference. A person in your vehicle can see when traffic becomes heavy or when driving conditions have worsened due to weather, etc. The passenger will pick up on these social queues and stop talking or aid the driver in noting a red light or another vehicle careening into your vehicle's lane, etc.
Interesting Choice
Since my stance is that any cell phone use while driving is dangerous, I was a bit surprised when I was contacted to talk with Russell about this hands-free product. However, I went with an open mind and a lot of questions. We sat in the lobby of the dramatic and luxurious W Hotel in downtown Minneapolis to discuss this product. I was disappointed that I did not get a demonstration on a vehicle, as I had been told I would.
Yet, having done my research and emailed my friends at Consumer Reports, I had read about this product and watched a video demonstration for SYNC and the MyFord Touch program that works hand-in-hand with SYNC. I also requested tickets to the Twin Cities Auto Show so that I could see a demonstration of this product and check out other vehicles systems too. So, I was able to do a self-guided demonstration in a Ford vehicle set up for that purpose at the Auto Show.
