The road ahead for in-car computers

A 10.2in touch-sensitive screen controls the vehicle’s climate, suspension modes and even alerts the driver if BMW’s Assist network detects an accident ahead by projecting warning notifications onto the windscreen. All for the decidedly princely sum of £2,375.

And therein lies the problem. Car manufacturers continue to demonstrate the pinnacle of their research and development departments’ abilities, and pricing this technology accordingly.

But a decade of change in the way we communicate ­ and a ban on using mobile phone handsets while driving in 2003 ­ has meant it’s no longer just business users who need extra technology to remain in contact on the road.

Millions of us own a portable music player and don’t want to go back to keeping a CD wallet in the glove compartment ­ but unless we take the technology package with our new car, we’re stuck with fuzzy FM transmitters and uncomfortable Bluetooth headsets to get our favourite gadgets working.

Many of these workarounds straddle the boundary of road safety legislation, as they require the handling of the gadget itself to operate.

In-car technology may be advancing at an impressive rate but as humans we’re not evolving quite as quickly.

So while car makers develop new ways to interact with entertainment and navigation systems more safely and simply, there is little they can do about our inefficiency in performing two unrelated tasks simultaneously.

The law makes it pretty clear that using a mobile phone while driving will land you in trouble, but what is made less clear is that the physical act of holding the phone to your head is only part of the issue.

The charge of driving without due care and attention is more likely to get you in trouble and there is no difference in that charge, says PC Steve Harris of the Northamptonshire Casualty Reduction Partnership, whether you are holding a mobile to your ear, using a Bluetooth headset or using a system integrated into your vehicle’s entertainment system.

“Often in workshops at schools or colleges, we will drop a ruler and get students to catch it between their thumb and forefinger” explains PC Harris.

“We will then do the same thing, but ask them to hold a hands-free phone conversation at the same time.

“Straight away we see a huge increase in reaction times, based on how many centimetres are allowed to pass before the ruler comes to a stop.”