Gadgets 'can distract drivers'

Safety experts are warning against making the car too gadget-friendly in the hope it will reduce the number of road accidents, the Earth Times reports.

With BMW's recent inclusion of internet access in one of their cars, and satellite navigation devices and backseat DVD players to entertain passengers becoming more popular, road safety campaigners are urging caution.

Arnulf Volkmar Thiemel, from the ADAC vehicle technology centre, said that human beings are programmed to react to lights and moving images in their peripheral vision and this represented a danger.

"Many navigation systems provide an overload of images that distract the driver. In addition the screens are so small that details such as traffic signs cannot be seen. Navigation systems should be kept simple in giving clear voice commands," he suggested.

He added that children should wear headphones while watching DVDs in the back, some gadgets should be automatically switched off when the car moves past a certain speed and buying products with simple controls will help reduce accidents.

While mobile phones have represented a bane for traffic police, a worrying number of people continue to text while driving in the face of a ban not to use their phones without hands-free function.