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Sync drivers were much less likely to swerve out of their lanes than non-Sync drivers

There have been numerous studies that have shown that distracted drivers can be as dangerous on the road as drunk drivers. Some recent studies have shown that texting while driving may actually be just as dangerous as driving intoxicated.

In an effort to reduce the distractions that drivers are confronted with while driving some stated have instituted hands free laws that require drivers to use hands free kits to make calls while driving. Ford has a system called Sync in some of its vehicles that offers all sorts of hands free technologies to make driving safer while still allowing drivers to stay in contact and listen to music from digital devices.

Ford commissioned a new study that has shown significant differences in how distracted drivers are when using its Sync system compared to not using it. For the study, Ford had drivers select a phone number or choose a song on their MP3 players using Sync compared to doing the same thing manually.

Drivers who did the tasks manually had their eyes off the road for about 25 seconds while drivers using Sync had their eyes off the road for approximately two seconds. Participants in the study were asked to dial ten-digit phone numbers, call a specific person form the digital phone book, receive a call while driving, play a specific song, and review and respond to text messages.

The time eyes were off the road was measured by the researchers for drivers using both methods. Ford says that drivers performing these tasks manually swerved out of their lane 30 percent of the time while Sync users never swerved out of their lane. Ford has also announced a new 911 Assist feature for Sync that can dial 911 post-crash automatically.

Dr. Louis Tijerina from Ford said in a statement, "These real-world results indicate that SYNC's voice-interface offers substantial advantages compared to using a handheld device to do the same task."

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RE: In other news...
By icrf on 2/6/2009 3:08:48 PM , Rating: -1
I think it's more the matter of some driving completely focused on the road still aren't as aware of their surrounding as some people can be even while multi-tasking. IE, if I'm going to look down for a second to change MP3s, I will choose to do it when I can see ahead of me enough to know that there are no small children that are potentially road targets. If I see something that may need my attention, I delay my task. It's targeted planning.

Would I be a better driver if I focused all of my attention on driving? Maybe. Then again, maybe that would make me hate driving so much that I'd be more susceptible to road rage, and being able to take a strategically chosen ten seconds over the course of a minute to change music to something more fitting to my mood is a net gain.

RE: In other news...
By wordsworm on 2/7/2009 11:05:25 AM , Rating: 3
Are you also one of those people who thinks they can drink a pint of whiskey while they drive without being a danger to everyone?

RE: In other news...
By mindless1 on 2/7/2009 12:39:35 PM , Rating: 2
So what if you don't see something that needs your attention, if it's just an ordinary day with you going one direction, cars going the other way in the adjacent lane, then some tool on a cell phone swerves into your lane during that 2 seconds you weren't paying attention.

It doesn't seem likely, because it wasn't, most didn't have or use cell phones so much as they do today. Today we see a different side, if it's more dangerous than driving drunk when you see tons of people with a phone to their ear, far more than drinking and driving unless you were at a bar or restaurant.


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