# Study says HUD tech may actually reduce driving safety



## [email protected] (Aug 15, 2012)

Heads-up-displays in vehicles are supposed to make driving a little safer. They keep important information in your line of sight, so you don***8217;t have to look away from the road ahead. However, a recent study done by the University of Toronto, has found that HUDs may not be so safe after all.

It seem like having too many things going on in front of your face can be a bad thing. Even though the driver is still looking up, the various HUD alerts and info actually end up taking some focus off driving, so the info given can be processed._ ***8221;Drivers need to divide their attention to deal with this added visual information," said Department of Psychology professor Ian Spence, who led the research. "Not only will drivers have to concentrate on what***8217;s happening on the road around them as they***8217;ve always done, they***8217;ll also have to attend to whatever warning pops up on the windshield in front of them."_ Drivers can get overloaded with information, which can cause slower reactions to real dangers in front of them. Research carried out by the U of T found that, _***8221;The two visual tasks interfered with each other and impaired both reaction speed and accuracy. Missed warnings and slowed reaction times present real threats to safety. Furthermore, this rivalry for the driver***8217;s attention is most likely to occur when the driving environment is demanding."_

I think any time you put too much info in front of someone, it's going to cause issues. Most people can't have a conversation and drive well at the same time. HUDs are helpful, but maybe the amount of info displayed should be kept to a minimum. Any thoughts ?

_Source Gizmag_


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Better head's up than head down in the cockpit.


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## chuck92116 (Nov 11, 2011)

Another study with "I think" or "may" but no conclusive evidence.

I will let the fighter pilots know, who by the way have been using HUD for the past several decades, that they got it wrong.

If HUD poses a distraction issue it is merely a symptom of the root cause.

A distracted driver has the propensity to be distracted. It can be via the radio, HUD, NAV, putting on makeup, answering the phone, text messaging, etc.

The elephant in the corner is that some people just suck at driving and blaming it on HUD is ridiculous. What about the smart phones with holders suctioned to the windshield dangling in your face. Those are OK I guess. :dunno:


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## [email protected] (Aug 15, 2012)

I would think since pilots train with the equipment, it becomes the norm. Now, throw a bunch of stuff on the windscreen, in front of people who can barely operate the vehicles basic functions...that's where the problem starts. Just my thoughts though.


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## Fish23 (Apr 24, 2012)

[email protected] said:


> I would think since pilots train with the equipment, it becomes the norm. Now, throw a bunch of stuff on the windscreen, in front of people who can barely operate the vehicles basic functions...that's where the problem starts. Just my thoughts though.


I would suggest that pilots have a lot more room to manoeuvre in all directions depsite the speeds at which they fly. Drivers have less room and fewer directions with which to avoid rulr-breaking cyclists, texting pedestrians and distracted/poor drivers etc. Worst case, yes but I can see that,in certain circumstances, extra visual inputs could mean "information overload" which the study aeems to suggest.

I don't have HUD but, if I did, and if can be turned off, I would do that where I deemed it beneficial to do so.


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## Kamdog (Apr 15, 2007)

I would also suggest that fighter pilots are the cream of the crop. They are highly intelligent, highly educated in technical matters, well trained, mentally sharp, and physically very fit. I expect their general situational awareness far exceeds that of 99% of drivers.

What they can do does not necessarily mean that average people can do.


Whether a HUD is an improvement or a detriment bears study.

It is, IMO, still cool.


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## djsaad1 (Sep 3, 2012)

Just because the hud is there, doesn't mean you are looking at it. You need to look down a little to notice it. That should be safer than looking down at the cluster to look at the speed, or at the idrive screen to look at what song is playing. 

Yes, HUD is probably less safe if we are comparing it to just looking straight at the road at all times. But I highly doubt it's less safe compared to us looking at the idrive screen or instrument cluster.


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## Dave 20T (Apr 7, 2013)

In the photo at the top of the article, the HUD displays "musik". This is unnecessary and supports the article that HUD is a distraction.


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## dpritchett (Sep 6, 2006)

Along with the HUD, I suppose we need to get rid of i-drive/radios/entertainment systems as well, since they distract. And if we allow passengers at all, they must be silent while they are in the vehicle.


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## Oaker55 (Mar 7, 2014)

chuck92116 said:


> Another study with "I think" or "may" but no conclusive evidence.
> 
> I will let the fighter pilots know, who by the way have been using HUD for the past several decades, that they got it wrong.
> 
> ...


Those same people that are distracted by those things are probably distracted by their own breathing.


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## Oaker55 (Mar 7, 2014)

Unfortunately, the HUD doesn't offer enough information. For those with Blind Spot warning, etc., that information should also be in the HUD as well as any vehicle malfunction warning.


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## Dave 20T (Apr 7, 2013)

dpritchett said:


> Along with the HUD, I suppose we need to get rid of i-drive/radios/entertainment systems as well, since they distract. And if we allow passengers at all, they must be silent while they are in the vehicle.


I-drive is a potential distraction but not much will power is needed to stop fiddling with it while driving.

As far as talking passengers, I once was stopped by the police because of exceeding the speed limit while distracted by passengers. Fortunately, the policeman just gave me a verbal warning. The nice fellow recognized me, but not vice versa.


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## djsaad1 (Sep 3, 2012)

Dave 20T said:


> I-drive is a potential distraction but not much will power is needed to stop fiddling with it while driving.
> 
> As far as talking passengers, I once was stopped by the police because of exceeding the speed limit while distracted by passengers. Fortunately, the policeman just gave me a verbal warning. The nice fellow recognized me, but not vice versa.


I don't think "will power" should be factored into the equation. We can use "lack of will power" to mark almost anything as not safe.


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## veery (Feb 25, 2015)

Heck, there are no deer where the jets fly!


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## next34 (Jun 6, 2005)

Fortunately for BMW you can add what you need to see and focus on that, you dont have to enable all.I can see where too much information can cause distraction, however this is no different from the GPS.when i am driving not knowing where I am going and using the gps thats my focus, not the screeming kids, not the radio or music station those are tuned out until I have peace(see my destination)


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