It's a Tough Task to Drive Distraction-Free

Written by Laura Cerutti

AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety recently released the second part of a long-term study to evaluate the use of hands-free calling systems and how these “safety” features relate to distracted driving. Contrary to the public’s popular belief that driving while using hands-free voice features eliminates risk, the study actually found that hands-free devices are just as dangerous as driving while using a handheld cellphone.

More and more drivers have turned to hands-free calling features with the belief that they are a safer alternative. If their eyes are on road and hands are on the wheel, then what danger could there be? Yes, hands-free does reduce visual and manual distractions associated with cellphone use while driving but cognitive distractions persist.

Cognitive distraction occurs when our focus shifts away from the primary task of driving to attend to another like having a conversation on your car’s speakerphone. We think our full attention is on the road just because we are looking it at, but we are not actually processing what we are seeing.

This “looking without seeing” is known as inattention blindness. While our mind is elsewhere as we proceed down the road, our visual scanning decreases and our reaction time is impaired. If a pedestrian were to run out in front of us while we are driving and talking via Bluetooth, we may not process the danger and react quick enough to slam on the brakes. And when operating a vehicle, sometimes a fraction of a second is the difference between life and death.

We have known for a while that driving with a phone pressed to our ear is dangerous and texting while driving is even more ludicrous. Now we know hands-free is not risk-free either. This all got me thinking, what is it about driving that makes us want to engage in a phone conversation?

I think that when we spend so much time alone in our cars that we start to feel isolated, especially for those who have long commutes to work and deal with daily traffic nightmares.  On these long monotonous rides, we look for something to occupy or mind and relieve loneliness, so what do we do? We press a button and tell our car’s voice-command system to place a call.

It is a backwards concept to think that driving is our downtime and we need to find something to pass the time behind the wheel. I have a friend that told me she regularly uses her 45-minute commute home from work to call friends and family members to catch up. She also disclosed that driving home is the only time she has during the day to place these personal phone calls and maintain connections with people who are important her.

It seems that driving has become second nature to so many of us over the years that we think we are able to multi-task behind the wheel. But juggling cellphone use while driving has proved to have tragic consequences. We may believe that we are skilled multitaskers, but in reality it is impossible for the human brain to efficiently carry out more than one task at a time.

Talking and driving are drawn from two different regions of the brain, and when we combine both tasks at one time, they have to compete for our mind’s attention and focus. Our mental workload only goes so far, and instead of multi-tasking we rapidly switch back and forth between tasks and are unable to carry out both talking and driving as thoroughly as we think.

I also firmly believe we have become very addicted to technology, mainly our cellphones. Today, 90% of American adults own a cellphone and 58% of those cellphones are smartphones. Now compare that to way back when in 1996 where only 14% of people had cellphone subscriptions. These so-called “smart” mobile devices allow us to connect socially and access information instantly from almost anywhere, and our cars are no exception.

According to a study published by the Journal of Behavioral Addiction, cellphone dependency has been categorized along with gambling and shopping as a behavioral addiction, which is defined as the “the compulsion to repeat a behavior despite its negative impact on one’s well-being”. We know that distracted driving is dangerous but the gratification we receive from instant social connection causes us to jeopardize our safety for our phones.

Car manufacturers are perpetuating our compulsion to communicate with the outside world while driving by including hands-free/voice-activated systems and marketing them as “safety” features that come standard in all new models. The idea of pressing a button on the steering wheel and commanding these systems to make a phone call would seem like a simple task. AAA found that the majority of these voice-command systems are full of errors and inaccuracies making them a less safe option even though consumers are led to believe otherwise. For example, when telling the system to “call home” and it calls your work phone instead, your mind enters into a full-on state of distraction as it works to correct the mistake immediately.

According to the CDC, 9 people are killed and 1,153 are injured everyday as a result of cellphone use while driving. So far 44 states have banned texting and driving while 12 states, including New Jersey, have banned all handheld cellphone use while driving. The only group that has hands-free device restrictions is new drivers under the GDL.

For now, more experienced drivers are able to use hands-free devices with no legal consequence. As more research is being conducted on the impacts of hands-free while driving, the next step may be to outlaw these systems as well. The real work would also need to come from individual drivers to learn to be comfortable alone in the car and resisting the temptation to multi-task while driving.

Six Must-Have Mobility Apps

Written by Daniel Callas

These free transportation and travel apps will give you all the tools you need to better plan your trips, avoid delays and take advantage of mass transit options. If you don’t already have them ready to go on your phone, give them a shot and see what you’ve been missing. Have any favorites you don’t see here? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!

1. Google Maps
(Google Play) (App Store)

This one should really go without saying. Google has the financial strength to outmatch the competitors and it does just that. Maps has gone through several iterations over the years, and with the somewhat-recent acquisition of Waze (check it out, it’s also a good app on its own) and the gradual rollout of Waze’s features, Google continues to provide travelers with a powerful tool to get where they’re going by bike, walk, transit or car and avoid delays in the process.

2. Ridescout
(Google Play) (App Store)

While it’s still expanding, Ridescout is far and away the up-and-comer on the circuit. Aiming to serve as a one-stop-shop for getting around, there’s no doubt this one will gain traction among the less-car-reliant millennial generation. Ridescout allows you to enter in your starting point and destination and will then give you all the options of travel, from Uber and cabs to mass transit and bike share. And it all comes with a time estimate and cost breakdown.

3. Uber
(Google Play) (App Store)

Despite the controversy, Uber is forging ahead, and for good reason. The taxi alternative offers passengers a clean and convenient ride around town, and because drivers use their own vehicles, they can offer the service at a reduced cost from traditional cab companies. Check out our post Tech Innovation Targets Transportation for more on Uber and the battle over rideshare.

4. Transit App
(Google Play) (App Store)

If you only get one mass transit app for your phone, you’d better make it the oh-so-cleverly-named Transit App. Simply enter in your start and end points for your trip, and see what’s available and what your travel itinerary would look like. The app also includes real-time NJ Transit bus information for you to plan your own trip.

5. NJ TRANSIT MyTix
(Google Play) (App Store)

If you only get two mass transit apps for your phone, be sure to grab NJ TRANSIT’s MyTix. MyTix allows you to buy rail tickets and passes at any time and display them from your phone when you’re riding any one of NJT’s trains. Bus tickets can also be purchased through the app for NJT’s southern region. The app allows you to store two credit cards to allow for easy payment when you're on the move.

6. Best Parking
(Google Play) (App Store)

If you’re going to be doing any city driving, this app’s for you. The other apps can get you there, but with Best Parking, you'll be able to find the best garage and lot rates around you all while avoiding circling the block a dozen times looking for a better option. With 105 supported cities you’ll be good to go almost any time you travel.

Tech Innovation Targets Transportation

Written by Daniel Callas

So you’ve probably heard of Uber. You’ve probably heard of its competitor, Lyft. Maybe you’ve even heard of Sidecar, Zimride, Zipcar, Car2Go and others. If you haven’t yet, you will. The transportation sector is rich with innovation right now, and if you blink, you might miss the next latest and greatest thing.

Source: Uber

Uber, Sidecar and Lyft are all variations on the taxi concept, yet they’re causing commotion among the cab community and outside it. The three “ridesharing” companies (more on the term ridesharing later), have taken advantage of the widespread availability and use of mobile devices to reinvigorate and reinvent a technologically-lagging industry.

Under these new models, drivers use their own smartphones to connect with customers in search of a ride and, without any exchange of physical money, can provide rides in their own vehicles. They then get paid via the company app.

Riders can make pickup arrangements without leaving their seat at the restaurant or theater. The app tells them what they need to know: how much they’ll be charged, who will be picking them up and in what vehicle.

But innovation and disruption come at a cost.

These companies have drawn the ire of many taxi commissions, associations and government authorities across the globe for a myriad of reasons. From background checks and insurance issues to medallion investments and questions of legality, Uber, Lyft and the like are operating in a new (and yet to be regulated) realm, creating concern among various groups.

Among those groups are more traditional ridesharing organizations. These groups have pushed for Uber, Lyft and similar services to be categorized as “Transportation Network Companies” to distinguish non-profit ridesharing from their more taxi-like product. The terminology may seem trivial on the user level, but on a public policy level it has real implications when it comes to federal funding. Not to be outdone (by pesky nomenclature or each other’s advancements), Lyft and Uber have both recently announced true carpool services.

Source: TIME

Some cab agencies have responded by partnering with tech startups to offer their own mobile apps. Companies like Flywheel in San Francisco, and Curb and Hailo in other markets, have been working to get riders into taxis already on the road. In New York City, City Council member Ben Kallos admits that the city’s taxis have been disrupted and may need their own app to stay competitive.

Uber, however, may be positioning itself to be the “last man standing” in the app-driven ride provider ring. The company just hired former Obama campaign advisor David Plouffe to lead their push for acceptance in the 170 cities they call home around the world. Uber also recently engaged in a public spat with competitor Lyft after both companies accused each other of ordering and canceling rides on their app. Uber even suggested that Lyft was positioning itself to be bought out by Uber, which received a $17 billion valuation earlier this year. More on their back-and-forth here.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

And yet, other business models have emerged. BlaBlaCar, a French company, has begun offering similar ride sharing services, with one key difference: their drivers can’t turn it into a job. They keep tabs on fuel costs, insurance rates and taxes to make sure drivers are not reimbursed for more than the cost of the ride. By doing so, it avoids conflict with the seemingly threatened cab industry. ZimRide is another option that has found a niche market in the US, particularly on college campuses for carpooling home during breaks and as an option to get travelers to and from concerts or other events.

But it doesn’t stop with cars.

In Boston, on-demand busing is primed for takeoff, thanks to Bridj. The Cambridge-based startup is shaking up mass transit by using an algorithm based on GPS data, census figures and social media to deliver effective bus routes that can be adjusted in real-time to meet demand. 

Is plane-pooling on the horizon?

Not to be outdone, AirPooler is looking to match pilots to flyers, though that concept was dealt a significant setback earlier this month, when the FAA essentially deemed flight-sharing illegal. 

Sure there are plenty of new apps and companies to address the tech shortfall within the transportation sector, but some older players in the game aren’t waiting to be replaced. Celebrating its centennial this year, Greyhound has spread the availability of free WiFi on their updated fleet, and introduced a number of booking apps to increase efficiency and appeal to younger generations of travelers. 

Mobile apps seem to be the name of the game. And that’s no different among the carsharing crowd, which relies heavily on the reduced emphasis on ownership seen among the younger millennial generation. ZipCar, Car2Go and others have entered the market but not without their own concerns.

Volvo Trucks successfully tests
their road train.

The point is, we’ve seen an unbelievable amount of innovation and advancement in the transportation sector, but we’re far from the finish line. Driverless cars, Volvo’s car trains and magnetic levitation (maglev) trains are all projects that have made it out of the concept stage and are now being tested or even implemented in various regions of the world. The real benefit however, is the increased mobility and accessibility these technologies offer, and the challenge comes not in developing the tools, but in serving the populations that need them most.