Impact of touchscreens on reaction time is worryingly ‘worse than cannabis’

Distraction is increasingly becoming a problem in the car. It’s not just looking at your cell phone that carries the necessary risk, the touchscreens in your car also have an unsettling effect on you as a driver. The British road safety research institute TRL even states that the reaction time when looking at a touchscreen is slower than when under the influence of cannabis.

The reaction time of drivers driving under the influence of cannabis is 21 percent slower than when they are sober. Not making hands-free calls impacts your response time by 46 percent, and using your touchscreen slows your response time by 57 (!) percent.

Impact of touchscreens on reaction time worse than cannabis

Of course, it’s not like the drug’s influence isn’t too bad. Finally, reaction time applies to cannabis throughout the journey. Don’t touch your car’s touchscreen all the way to work or home.

So the influence of the touchscreen on your reaction time is significant. TRL concludes that selecting a new song on Spotify while your phone is connected to Android Auto or Apple CarPlay distracts drivers and cuts response time by 20 seconds.

Better an old Volvo than a Tesla

The 57 percent named in the survey correspond exactly to the survey by the Swedish magazine Vi Bilägare. This test shows that a number of tasks can be completed much faster in an old Volvo than in a BMW iX or Tesla Model 3. The participants had to solve various tasks at a speed of 110 kilometers per hour.

The participants in the Volvo completed the tasks in an average of 10 seconds. The MG Marvel R had the most cumbersome operation with a time of 44.9 seconds.

The fact that some buyers and lessees of new cars are done with the touchscreen is also proven by the popularity of the Ctrl bar. A start-up developing physical buttons for your Tesla.