Driver distraction: Lessons from the world of Formula 1

Formula 1 - as the pinnacle of Motorsport - showcases driving in arguably its most intensive form. You don't get a driving experience that is faster, more precise, more demanding. A lap in an F1 car makes the stressful school run look like a 50p ride in a Postman Pat van outside the local post office.

Just as F1 is the driving force behind many developments that end up in mainstream cars, I believe this concentrated form of driving can teach us a lot about driver distraction.  In particular, Controls and Feedback.

Given that nearly every new car launched these days comes fitted with a large touchscreen housing everything from car setup controls to climate control to audio to satellite navigation...why don't we see touchscreens in F1 cars?

It sounds like an absurd question, but it reveals a lot.

The answer is simple. Any distraction to an F1 driver will hinder performance. And the most direct means to alter a setting on a car that is doing 200mph, is through a button, switch or dial that offers precision, clarity and feedback (and therefore minimal distraction) when operated.






Any engineer that asks an F1 driver to navigate menus or tap or slide a finger across a smooth surface to effect a precise change to their vehicle at speed, would be laughed at and fired.

Shift the scenario from the racetrack to public roads and whilst speeds are lowered significantly, pedestrians and other road users are added into the mix.  Why should touch screens be any more suitable to this more conventional scenario?

In Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, Jenson button told his race engineer over the radio, ""Dave will you stop talking to me in braking zones. Stop talking to me in braking zones."  He was quite upset. Why? Because speech interaction is distracting. The levels of concentration required to feed an F1 car around a race track expose the impact distractions can have on driving performance.

And if Jenson gets distracted, you can bet almost every driver on our roads gets distracted too. Especially if there's a glossy, internet-connected iPad blinking away and tempting you from the centre console.

So do I see a place for touch screens and voice controls in cars? Yes I do. But not in the way they are currently being developed. Motorsport pushes the boundaries of automotive development. We would do well to learn some lessons from that world about what helps and what hinders a driver's performance.