Nicholas Warlin

February 10, 2019

WRTG 1010

Annotated Bibliography

Ashley Halsey, I.,II. "In-Car Technology Complicates Deadly, Addictive Issue of Distracted.."

Washington Post, 27 Jun. 2018, pp. A.2. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks-sirs-

com.libprox1.slcc.edu.

The article states some statistics on distracted driving such as how many deaths and
injuries occur due to distracted driving and what percentage of distracted driving is caused by
using cellphones while driving. It also researches how people condemn talking or texting while
driving, but still do it even though they know it’s dangerous. Finally, it researches what could be
done to cut down on distracted driving such as Apple CarPlay or Android Auto but finds that
these infotainment systems are just as dangerous and cause accidents. It also finds that car
manufacturers lead people into falsely believe that these installed systems are safe, even though
they are shown to distract people from the road long enough to cause an accident.

I believe this article is important to my research because it helps establish some important
statistics for my paper such as deaths and injuries to establish the importance of my research, and
to give me a point of view into an article that is against the use of infotainment systems, even
though they are made by car manufacturers to be safe for use inside the vehicle. It also shows
that drivers are prone to using their cell phones inside the vehicle, even though they know it isn’t
safe, also giving reason to my research.

"In our Opinion: Automakers and Drivers should Ensure the Safe use.." Deseret News, 05 Oct.

2017. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks-sirs-com.libprox1.slcc.edu.

This article attempts to give car manufacturers a guide to designing future infotainment
systems that are safer to use. It suggests that stopping the car is necessary for programming
navigation, as it can take the driver’s eyes off the road for more than 40 seconds, which is huge
considering every 2 seconds the risk of a crash doubles. It also suggests making cellphones more
hand free to allow the driver to keep their eyes on the road. Lastly, it contrasts another one of my
articles by suggesting that the laws stay out of the picture, because “laws specifically governing
types of onboard systems could stifle innovation.”

This article is important to my research because it supports car manufacturers in their

attempt to innovate in their design of infotainment systems but takes a stand against the law
intervening in the matter, because it could hinder manufacturers from streamlining their systems
and making them safer. This article gives its own unique point of view that attempts to allow car
manufacturers a chance to innovate and improve their systems, instead of completely banning
cellphones or allowing the law to intervene and attempt their own way of fixing things. It also
points out that the technology that exists in its current state is not adequate in its attempt to cut
down on distracted driving.

Lazarus, David. "It's Time to Block Drivers' Phones." Los Angeles Times, 06 Nov. 2018, pp. p.

C.1. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks-sirs-com.libprox1.slcc.edu.

This article takes a full-on stance against cell phones in the vehicle. It suggests that
jamming technology be installed in the steering wheel that jams the driver’s cellphone and
adjusts its strength depending on the signal output from the phone. However, the FCC is
currently against jammers because they pose a risk to those around them trying to contact
authorities. The article lists a few ways that jammers could be used to only block a driver and
suggests other ways to block cell phones such as motion detectors and cameras that detect eye
motion.

This article is important to my research because it takes a radical stance in totally

blocking cellphones inside of the vehicle. It gives a few ideas that are good in idea but would be
hard to implement. There is also some pressure from the article for laws to change to make
jammers legal, because they could be the most effective way to stop cell phone related distracted
driving accidents. The article also lists roadblocks in the way of this technology and how to
overcome them.

Marco, della C. "Is Car Technology Giving Us a False Sense of Security?" USA TODAY, 18

Apr. 2018, pp. A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks-sirs-com.libprox1.slcc.edu.

The article explains that there are technologies besides infotainment systems that are
trying to help with the issue of distracted driving but are not yet ready to be given full control of
the vehicle. The article mentions two deaths that have resulted from drivers ignoring the attempts
of semi self-driving technology to have them retake control of the vehicle, and also states that
these technologies may introduce some danger by giving drivers a false sense of security in
ignoring where their vehicle is taking them.

I believe this article is important because it gives some insight into some technologies
that differ from the theme of infotainment systems that the rest of these articles take, however,
this technology is not yet safe enough to prevent all distracted driving accidents, and still
requires some sort of driver attention in the operation of the vehicle. I believe the examples of
the two deaths in this article due to misuse of the technology serves a good example in my paper
for drivers to use this as a tool, but not to abuse it and use it against its design.

Stoll, John D. "To Reduce Traffic Deaths, Look to Sweden." Wall Street Journal, 27 Jun. 2018,

pp. R.6. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks-sirs-com.libprox1.slcc.edu.

 The article sympathizes with the laws in Sweden when it comes to distracted drivers. In
Sweden, they have taken a tactic against distracted driving that attempts to lower fatalities due to
accidents rather than attack distracted driving itself. The government has lowered speed limits
around pedestrians to lower the chance of fatalities due to vehicles colliding with pedestrians. It
has also installed guard rails in areas that traffic runs parallel to reduce the chance of a head on
crash between two vehicles. Other attempts have imposed tougher punishments on distracted
drivers and more driver education to further lower fatalities due to distracted driving.

This article is important because it is the only article that has taken the side of the law in
reducing technology related distracted driving. Even though this article was focused more
towards all forms of distracted driving, I believe these measures would also work very
effectively against technology related instances of distracted driving.