[...] tech companies are responding by designing what they say are safer ways for customers to stay glued to their favorite apps and online services behind the wheel. Google's Android is working on an interface to make it safer and more user-friendly through a platform called Android Auto, which allows maps, music and personal organization functions on your phone to be accessed through a larger screen in the car. "People don't want to check their phones at the doors when they get behind the wheel," Patrick Brady, director of engineering for Android at Google says in a promotional video that was released at the Google developer conference last week. Even larger, easier-to-find digital icons require drivers to take their eyes off the road, and choosing from an ever-growing catalog of activities and menus means more distraction from the main task at hand. A study for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety described listening to the radio as a "minimal" distraction, talking on a cell phone (handheld or hands-free) as a "moderate" risk, and using voice-activated systems to send and receive e-mail as an "extensive" safety risk.
Reported by SFGate 25 minutes ago.
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