Washington wants carmakers to limit gadgets, web apps

WASHINGTON: The US government wants automakers to put limits on the electronic devices they install in new cars and is recommending that most Internet-linked applications and video equipment be disabled unless a vehicle is standing still.

“These guidelines recognise that today’s drivers appreciate technology, while providing automakers with a way to balance the innovation consumers want with the safety we all need,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Combined with good laws, good enforcement and good education, these guidelines can save lives.”

The automakers, through the Auto Alliance trade group, responded with cautious approval, saying the guidelines should be extended to cover handheld devices so that drivers don’t try to circumvent restrictions on factory-installed electronics.

“Our concern is that limiting built-in systems without simultaneously addressing portable devices could result in drivers choosing not to connect their phones in order to access the functionality they want,” the Alliance said in a statement. “That would be a troubling outcome, given the ( National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) finding announced today that visualmanual tasks associated with hand-held phones and other portable devices increase crash risk by three times.”

LaHood’s announcement came the same day as the release of a study concluding that voiceactivated text-messaging systems are just as distracting to drivers as systems that require tapping out messages on a keypad.

The study by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A& M University underscored the challenge of developing technology to address distracted driving.

The report found that even when using a voice- activated device, drivers take their eyes of the road and lose a significant degree of their focus on the roadway. — WP-Bloomberg