California drivers use their handheld devices for many legitimate reasons. Ride-sharing and food delivery are such big staples of culture today. Thus, many drivers rely on phone apps to get their work done. Many others rely on mobile GPS systems to navigate while they drive.
For this reason, companies rush to make using handheld devices a safer experience. Hands-free tech work to that end, too. But how much do they actually work?
Types of driver distractions
The National Safety Council believes that hands-free technology does not guarantee driver safety. This is because combating driver distraction requires you to address three things. These things are visual, physical and cognitive distractions. Visual distractions include anything that takes your eyes from the road. Physical distractions take your hands away from the wheel. Cognitive distractions take your mind from driving.
What hands-free tech addresses
Hands-free technology focuses on two of the three areas of distraction. As the name implies, physical distractions take precedence. Hands-free tech allows you to operate your devices without physically touching it. This does help, since you do not have to move your hands from the wheel. Also, hands-free tech allows you to use your device without looking directly at it. You can instead use voice commands and listen to audio played back.
But hands-free tech cannot address cognitive distraction. In fact, hands-free tech is a cognitive distraction in a way. By allowing you to use your handheld device, it provides a distraction from the road. This is true even if you use the device to listen to directions. Unfortunately, even concentrating on where you need to go may distract you from what you need to do.