If you thought you were driving safe when activating your voice-to-text service or starting up Siri, a survey by the Texas Transportation Institute thinks it might dull your reactions just as much as finger-based typing. Its new study compared 'traditional' text messaging with voice-to-text and found that drivers still took about twice as long to react as they did when they weren't trying to communicate with their phone. According to Christine Yager, who led the research, "Eye contact to the roadway also decreased, no matter which texting method was used." The study kept participant numbers low, monitoring 43 drivers along a (car-free) test track.
In fact, voice-to-text often took longer than manual input, due to the need to correct typing discrepancies while using the software: "You're still using your mind to try to think of what you're trying to say, and that by proxy causes some driving impairment, and that decreases your response time." The bigger issue is that the drivers apparently felt safer when using voice-based entry, even though test results proved that response times were just as negatively affected. "It is important to educate the public that even these seemingly new distractions are still distractions, and it will help people be safer when they get into the vehicle," Yager added.
Source: Reuters
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