Green says in his study that the evidence already collected (in Canada, Japan and Kuwait, among others) suggests that, "For now, restrictions on the use of these devices while driving are warranted, but not a blanket ban."
In the long term, Green believes, "the most effective means of minimizing risk to drivers will be through improved product design." To this end, he suggests there is a need to:
"Safety and human factors efforts lag far behind electronics development," Green says. "If action is not taken, a significant number of information system-related deaths and injuries will result. Potential reactions could be a tarnished public image of these products and result in a loss of a potential market, product liability suits that could put suppliers out of business, and federal regulations banning the use of many products in moving vehicles."
Green believes the development of telematics in vehicles is at a critical juncture, and the companies involve have an important decision to make. "The choice is who the manufacturers and suppliers want to support: human factors experts to help them develop better products, or lawyers to defend them."
In the long term, Green believes, "the most effective means of minimizing risk to drivers will be through improved product design." To this end, he suggests there is a need to:
- engage human factors professionals in the development of these interfaces
- make greater use of usability testing, especially on the road
- comply with existing guidelines such as the regulations of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturer's Association and the Society of Automotive Engineers
- expand these guidelines to cover speech, since so many future technologies will be speech-operated, and
- fund the development and application of workload managers to avoid driver overload.
"Safety and human factors efforts lag far behind electronics development," Green says. "If action is not taken, a significant number of information system-related deaths and injuries will result. Potential reactions could be a tarnished public image of these products and result in a loss of a potential market, product liability suits that could put suppliers out of business, and federal regulations banning the use of many products in moving vehicles."
Green believes the development of telematics in vehicles is at a critical juncture, and the companies involve have an important decision to make. "The choice is who the manufacturers and suppliers want to support: human factors experts to help them develop better products, or lawyers to defend them."