Using Google Glass behind the wheel might seem safer than using a regular phone, but that's not necessarily true. A new research has found that texting while driving with Glass is as dangerous as doing it using a mobile phone.
Researchers at the University of Central Florida, in cooperation with the Air Force Research Laboratory, carried out a study that compared how 40 participants in a car simulator reacted to a vehicle ahead slamming on its brakes while simultaneously texting using either an Android smartphone or Google Glass.
The results of the study have shown that those using Google's high-tech goggles didn't react any faster than those using smartphones. “While Glass-delivered messaging has benefits, it does not in any way make driving-while-messaging safe”, said lead researcher Ben D. Sawyer, who has been studying distractions and how they impact human-machine interactions for years.
Glass users were able to recover more quickly from near-collisions. But they also tended to follow cars ahead much more closely, thus increasing the chances of collision.
According to the National Safety Council, mobile phone use while driving leads to at least 1.6 million accidents every year. As Google Glass becomes more widely available, many states are considering banning the use of the device while driving.
So the bottom line, according to Sawyer, is that don't trade your smartphone in for Google Glass because, if you think it will make texting safer behind the wheel, it won't, at least not for now.
