Global insurer Allianz has stepped forward as a leading voice in the growing conversation around driver distraction caused by screen-based vehicle controls, urging the motoring industry to rethink how modern in-car interfaces are designed.

With touchscreens now dominating the cabin of modern vehicles, Allianz’s latest research highlights a concerning rise in accidents linked to visual, cognitive and manual distraction. It was the key topic at a recent media roundtable.

The event bought together industry experts and keynote speakers, and presented compelling findings from multiple studies conducted across Germany and Australia. These studies collectively show that the shift from physical buttons to screen based controls has introduced new behavioural risks.

That's particularly so when drivers must navigate layered menus or divert their eyes from the road for extended periods.

Allianz found that “67 per cent of surveyed Australians who reported causing or partly causing a crash said distraction definitely or possibly played a role with multiple data sources identifying distraction as a contributing factor in crashes”.

Car manufacturers highlight that there are alternatives to the use of screen-based controls by using voice assistance, but this is not always effective, especially when in the unfamiliar surroundings of a new, business or rental car.

The evening, held at Studio Q in Sydney, highlighted the fact that even a 3.0-second adjustment of the temperature or rear vision mirrors means the driver’s eyes are not on the road ahead, with potential serious consequences.

An extensive research program concluded that there are three focus areas to reduce distraction from onboard vehicle screens. The first is that car manufacturers must design cockpits around real world driving conditions.

This includes functions of the vehicle that are used regularly or are safety related. It recommends that these are either physical buttons or switches, or that the process to be intuitive.

“Technology should support safer driving, not compete for a driver’s attention,” Allianz Australia chief claims officer Luke Whenman said. “Many drivers are also telling us they’re concerned about the increasing complexity of in-vehicle technology.”

Effective regulation and enforcement is the second area of concern with the need to treat distraction from mobile phones and user interfaces systematically. That’s definitely a more complex situation, that requires government intervention.

The third is driver education, with a focus on reinforcing the fact that driver attention remains the decisive safety factor relating to road accidents. Allianz research quotes numbers as high as 86 per cent of steerers recognise that reducing distraction lies with them.

Allianz hopes its report, and the pressure it can put on vehicle manufacturers might lead them to re-evaluate the use of screen controls in vehicles in the future.


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