Study Finds Voice-to-Text Apps Don't Increase Driver Safety

Andrea Smith2013-04-24 00:00:23 UTC

In an effort to be a safer driver, many people, myself included, have started using voice-to-text mobile apps like Siri to keep two hands on the steering wheel.

However, a new study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute finds using voice-to-text apps to send and receive text messages while driving don't increase driver safety.

Christine Yager, who headed up the research, tells Mashable there were no distinguishable differences between manual texters and voice texters.

"We did not find any differences between manual texting and the two voice-to-text apps that we tested in terms of driver response time and the amount of time looking at the forward roadway."

The study [PDF] is the first to compare voice-to-text and manual texting on a handheld device on the road.

Researchers — testing participants driving an actual vehicle on a closed course — had drivers use one of two mobile voice-to-text apps, Siri for iPhone and Vlingo for Android. They first asked the drivers to go through the course without any mobile phone use. Participants then drove the course three more times, once using each of the two voice-to-text applications, and one texting manually on a phone.

Yager says there was no difference between the texting methods that were used; the manual texting and both voice texting apps were equally as distracting.

The goal of the study, she says, is not to say don't use Siri, but to caution and educate drivers about the dangers of texting while driving. (We've seen numerous stories of drivers who've lost control of their car while texting.)

The study shows even formulating and dictating a message takes concentration away from the driving task at hand. "The amount of time that drivers spent looking at the roadway ahead was significantly less when they were texting, no matter which texting method was used."

Yager says if a texting driver is watching the road less often, then that driver is less able to take action when faced with something like a road hazard or a pedestrian.

The real issue may be that drivers seem to believe they’re being more careful when they use the voice-to-text apps even though they appear to offer no real safety advantage over manual texting.

The study found "drivers felt less safe when they were texting, but felt safer when using a voice-to-text application than when texting manually." So, even though we feel like we're doing the right thing by using an app, driving performance suffered with both methods.

And it's not just texting that distracts drivers. A California court ruled last month that checking GPS maps on your phone while driving is a violation of the state’s distracted driving law.

The new study is published in part to raise awareness during National Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, sjlocke

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Iran: A Case Study on How Not to Break News Online

Adam Popescu2013-04-18 21:11:49 UTC

First it was doctored photos of missiles. Then came a fake stealth fighter and claims of sending monkeys into space. Now Iran has bent the laws of physics and created a time machine that can predict the future.

H.G. Wells is rolling over, six feet under. Doc Emmet Brown just crashed his DeLorean. Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are going loopy. But maybe web innovators like Tim Berners-Lee and professional journalists the world over should be just as appalled.

That's because Iran's Fars News Agency is serving up a clinic on how not to break and retract news online. Last week, Fars posted a story on the most amazing invention since indoor plumbing, a device that fits into a computer case, and reportedly predicts your life five to eight years in the future to reveal your marriage age, education, job and even how many children you'll have — just by touching you. It can also, allegedly, forecast the possibility of a military confrontation with a foreign country and fluctuations in foreign currencies and oil prices, with up to 98% accuracy. The meme-worthy story went viral, then the Iranians quickly deleted it. And they didn't go back in time to do that, because the machine is basically a talented fortune teller that doesn't transport you through time.

As all web heads know, the best way to draw attention and garner credibility online is to break news.

As all web heads know, the best way to draw attention and garner credibility online is to break news. News agencies, trained journalists and even beginner bloggers all can play on the level playing field that is the Internet, if their content is unique and compelling enough.

But in this age of constant coverage and satellite image scrutiny, you better be right or face the onslaught of trolls and pundits ready to take pot shots at you. So step back and watch Iran to get a good look at the worst way to digitally shoot yourself in the foot. Here's the formula:

Break major story that seems totally fictitious.

Delete story and take a vow of silence.

Repeat.

This cycle of spin and what appears to be the dissemination of outright lies has caused the world to lose respect for the current Iranian regime, says Josh Lockman, a lecturer at USC on international law and U.S. foreign policy. The news it spews is kind of like The Onion, only The Onion is in on the joke along with the audience. In this case, the jokester doesn't seem to realize we're not buying it.

"It's a trend of completely preposterous claims on issues that range from absurd, monkey in space, to serious, the nuclear program," Lockman says. "This latest incident only underscores the absurdity of claims that the regime in Tehran has made on a variety of issues."

One sobering positive to this viral behavior, Lockman points out, is that in cases like the time travel machine and the enrichment level of uranium for nukes, the credibility of Iran's official news agency has been as watered down as the reality TV show the Shahs of Sunset. Validity becomes more and more diminished because their claims "are simply implausible," says Lockman.

If you want to see just how bizarre the Aryayek Time Traveling Machine is, click this link to the Iranian news service Enetkhab, which posted an interview with Ali Razeghi, the 27-year-old who allegedly built the machine. Fret not that it's in Farsi; you can easily translate the page using Google. It's worth the read.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Matthew71

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Internet Ad Revenues Top $36 Billion in 2012, Study Says

Seth Fiegerman2013-04-16 17:11:02 UTC

Internet ad revenues in the U.S. increased by 15% in 2012 to $36.6 billion, driven by significant year-over-year increases in revenue for mobile, search and digital video ads, according to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. Digital ad revenues also had a strong second-half of the year, topping $10 billion in the fourth quarter for the first time ever.

Mobile ad revenue more than doubled from the previous year to $3.4 billion from $1.6 billion, the second year in a row that mobile ad revenue has experienced triple-digit growth. Digital video revenue increased by 29% in 2012 to $2.3 billion and search ad revenue increased by 14% to $16.9 billion.

Search ad revenue still accounts for nearly half of all digital ad revenues, but it's share ticked down slightly last year while the share from mobile ads increased from 5% in 2011 to 9% in 2012. "Mobile, in particular, soared due to its ubiquity and intrinsic ability to serve as a powerful digital dashboard that travels with you from morning commute to nighttime video viewing and beyond," Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB, said in a statement.

Total digital ad revenue is now on the verge of passing broadcast television to become the top media source in the U.S. for ad revenue. It passed cable television in ad revenue in 2011.

A full copy of the IAB report can be found here.

Image via iStockphoto, Tomacco

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Study: More Young Adults Tuning Out Terrestrial Radio While Driving

Lauren Indvik2013-04-02 15:53:39 UTC

Turn on and tune out: More young people (ages 13 to 35) are listening to Internet radio in their cars, despite the broad and ready availability of AM/FM radio.

According to a study released Tuesday by the NPD Group, that demographics spends 23% of weekly music listening time using online streaming radio services like Pandora and Spotify, up 17% from just a year ago. The amount of time listening to Internet radio now matches the amount of time spent listening to AM/FM radio, which declined 2% over last year. Approximately one in five Pandora and iHeartRadio users are streaming radio from those services while driving, and 51% percent of those who use streaming services said they do most of their music listening in cars.

Mobile is a popular venue for listening to streaming radio as well. More than half of Pandora and iHeartRadio users employ their mobile devices to access those services.

Of the Internet radio services available, the free version of Pandora leads in popularity, with a 39% share of streaming music usage among ages 13 to 35. iHeartRadio comes in distant second with an 11% share, followed by the free version of Spotify (9%) and Grooveshark (2%). No paid music service had greater than 2% share.

AM/FM radio is still dominant among older listeners (those 36 and up), accounting for 41% of weekly music listening time. In that demographic, just 13% of weekly music listening time is spent with Internet-based radio services.

Image courtesy of iStockPhoto, gaspr13

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