Evaluating the Effect of Google Glass on Driver Distraction
Funding Source: UTC
Title: Evaluating the Effect of Google Glass on Driver Distraction
Date:
Status: Current
Summary: Distractions inside the automobile are a growing source of crashes. Especially dangerous are in-vehicle distractions that cause the driver to take both his/her mind and eyes away from the forward roadway. Google Glass could potentially reduce the effects of in-vehicle distractions. The symbology associated with the in-vehicle displays is overlaid on the driver’s view of the forward roadway, either left, right or center. The driver needs to look up and to the right to see what is in the display. Events which happen on the forward roadway, particularly those which attract visual attention, will still be able to do so with Google Glass, but cannot do so when the driver is looking inside the vehicle or at a smartphone to complete a task such as following a map or attending to a travel alert. However, the anticipation of latent hazards (events which do not attract visual attention) and their mitigation may be compromised by users of Google Glass as much as it is compromised by drivers engaged in a cell phone conversation, especially given the possibility that drivers using Google Glass will believe that they can adequately detect latent hazards because their view of the forward roadway is still available to them.
