Is Your Car Display Just a Big Phone? : Evaluating the Safety of Smartphones vs. Built-In Car Interfaces in the Context of Driver Distraction.

This study is a comparative study on driver distraction, as it compares the usage of smartphones in comparison with that of car displays when driving. Distracted driving is a serious issue in traffic with many deaths worldwide each year. The use of smartphones while driving is cited as one of the reasons for this. A mixed-method approach was used, combining a pre-survey to understand user behaviors and preferences, along with user tests to simulate driving while doing tasks on both devices. Pre-survey results showed that the majority of tasks were preferred on car displays while phone usage was more common for tasks normally associated with phones like reading and sending messages. The findings from the user tests revealed that even though car displays are perceived as being safer, they can be equally distracting, or significantly worse for drivers who are unfamiliar. While drivers familiar with car displays generally completed tasks faster on car displays, inexperienced users showed a significant difference in more critical driving mistakes. This highlighted that familiarity with whatever system or device you use is crucial in mitigating driver distraction and that onboarding or tutorials could enhance general road safety.