Report Finds Smartwatches are Bigger Distraction Than Phones

[Maura]

9to5 Mac reports that a new survey from the UK has found that smartwatches are an even bigger distraction to drivers than smartphones, which drivers are already banned from using behind the wheel in the UK.

According to the original report in The Huffington Post, the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) in Wokingham, Berkshire, found that a driver reading a message on an "Apple Watch" would take 2.52 seconds to react to an emergency manoeuvre, whereas the delay would be just 1.85 seconds when using a handheld mobile phone, and 0.9 seconds when talking to a passenger in the vehicle.

Although the report referred to an AppleWatch, 9to5 Mac was told by TRL that the watch used in the tests was, in fact, an “unspecified” smartwatch.

Whatever the brand of the watch used, concerns have certainly been raised since the launch of the Apple Watch last week about road safety, and whether or not the UK legislation that bans the use of a handheld phone when driving should be extended to include smartwatches.

Source: Smartwatches like the Apple Watch are worse for driver distraction than smartphones shows UK safety tests 9to5Mac

 

[scifan57]

It's not surprising. Drivers get too wrapped up in what they're doing to give proper attention to the road ahead of them.