Study Finds Google Glass No Safer to use While Driving Than Smartphones

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on September 29, 2014

Orlando texting accident attorneys are not surprised to learn the results of a recent report regarding drivers using Google Glass, a personal telecommunication/computing device that users attach to their eyeglasses. Researchers conducting a distracted driving study involving texting and driving using Google Glass found the hands-free eyewear is no safer to use while driving than a smartphone or any other telecommunication device. Google Glass allows users to send text messages via head commands and voice transcription technology.

Ben Sawyer, a psychological researcher at the University of Central Florida and one of the authors of the study, said that the new hands-free devices are just as distracting as smartphones.

“When you look at how fast people react to an unexpected traffic event – how fast they slam on their brakes, we didn’t find a statistically significant difference between Google Glass and smartphones,” he said.

Numerous studies have shown that sending or receiving text messages while driving significantly increases the likelihood that a distracted driver will cause an accident. According to recent statistics from the Governors Highway Safety Association, 44 U.S. states currently ban drivers from texting while driving, although many drivers continue to ignore laws prohibiting distracted driving.

Google Glass advocates say that the wearable device is less distracting to drivers because drivers’ eyes remain directed toward the road during use. Sawyer and other researchers dispute that claim, based on their study results and the fact that interacting with the devices are a significant distraction.

“Looking does not necessarily mean you are seeing,” Sawyer said, because thought processes remain affected.

Sawyer’s study involved 40 people who drove a simulator while texting about a math problem using Google Glass and a variety of smartphones. At different intervals, drivers using the simulator had a car brake suddenly in front of them. Sawyer said that after a near-collision in the simulator, texting drivers demonstrated different levels of confidence in their ability to safely text while driving.

For personal injury lawyers, the bottom line is that anything that takes a driver’s attention away from the safe and responsible operation of their vehicle is ill-advised. This is true whether the driver is talking or texting on a phone, applying makeup, shaving, disciplining children in the back seat, eating, reaching for a dropped object or anything else that diverts attention, even for an instant. If you are injured in a cell phone car accident caused by a distracted driver and you would like to speak with Mr. Cunningham, call him today at 877-FL-INJURY (877-354-6587) and schedule a free consultation.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.