iPod & Driving = Hazard!

03.30.07 - 10:25am

It’s a bit obvious that fiddling for a song on your iPod and trying to keep your eyes on the road while driving creates a conondrum. This, however, is the first time we have actual research depicting the problem

Drexel University is the first to complete a study on the effects of using the iPod and driving at the same time. “These findings serve as a first step toward understanding the potential effects of a portable music-player interaction on driver behavior and performance,” said Dario Salvucci, a Drexel University professor respresenting the study. “Surprisingly, despite the plethora of research on driver distraction, there have been no studies to date of how interaction with a portable music player may affect driver performance.”

In the study they had 12 people with iPod experience, drive and play three types of iPod media: music, informational podcasts or video. They also tested the drivers after they were done to find out how much of what they were hearing or listening to they actually took in. 84 percent of the participants understood or could remember what they heard or saw.

The study found that when driving and selecting a song driver performance was significantly affected as measured by vehicle deviation from the center of the lane veering left or right. Drivers also slowed down while searching for tunes (guess pushing the gas pedal and tuning the iPod is similar to patting your head and circling your stomach). And lo-and-behold! watching videos significantly affected car-following speed.

The findings will be presented by Salvucci at the 2007 Computer/Human Interaction Conference in San Jose California, April 28th to May 3rd.

Category: MP3 Players, iPod | Tags: