Florida drivers like you understand the dangers distracted driving poses. Unfortunately, a lot of driving behaviors fall into this category. Distracted driving is not just texting and driving. It is not just drowsy driving. It is many things.
Unfortunately, some tools to combat distracted driving risks have risks of their own. In specific, hands-free devices may not provide as much safety to drivers as you think.
Why do we need hands-free tech?
The National Safety Council takes a stance against the use of hands-free technology. At the very least, they say it is not as risk-free as makers claim. Proponents of hands-free tech claim that it gets rid of handheld device risks. This is a big issue to many drivers. There are plenty of legitimate uses of handheld devices while driving. For example, most people use navigation apps on their phone rather than onboard ones.
Unfortunately, hands-free devices cannot get rid of dangers entirely. Why? Because they do not target all three areas of driver distraction. These three areas include cognitive, visual and physical distractions. For example, thinking about a conversation you had earlier is a cognitive distraction. Looking at a passenger is a visual distraction. Reaching over to pick something off of the ground is a physical distraction.
Hands-free tech and cognitive distractions
Hands-free devices remove the risk of physical or visual distractions to a degree. You can operate your device with voice commands. It can reply with audio, too. This lets you keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. But you suffer from cognitive distraction. You cannot pay attention to a hands-free devices without splitting your focus. This is what makes hands-free devices a potential danger. The false sense of security users get may even contribute to crashes.