Spring Break
iPods can lead to traffic accidents
Priya Iyer
Issue date: 5/4/07 Section: News
When you look for an easy and simple ways to listen a plethora of music, most people reach for an iPod, but according to Dr. Dario Salvucci, they're dangerous as well.
These days, Ipods are more synonymous with being a fashion statement. Even here at Drexel University, iPods have been integrated into the curriculum. The School of Education has decided to give every education major an iPod in the beginning of the year, and teach them how to work with the proper Apple software to create podcasts.
Who would have ever thought that we would be dependent on such as device, which can hold about not only music, but also movies, TV shows and news reports as well.
This new technology, however, has led this society to newfound problem. Many companies now, have adapted the iPod for use anywhere, in such things as the iTrip, or the Cassette Adapter, which easily allows the driver to plug into the stereo of the car. While we believe that it is very convenient, to use your iPod while driving, a recent study by Dario Salvucci, a Professor of Computer Science at Drexel University, has shown that it is just as dangerous to use your iPod while driving, as it is to dial a cell phone.
" We had an informal sense that iPods are used more and more in a car, and that there has been no official study done. What it does to drivers, so we wanted to get some baseline numbers for this study, " Salvucci said.
In this recent a research study Salvucci wanted to prove that using an iPod while driving distracts the driver to an extreme. Armed with a small team of researches consisting of two Drexel Undergraduate Seniors, Daniel Markley, Mark Zuber, and postdoctoral researcher Duncan P. Brumby, Salvucci started his research.
The number one obstacle faced by the scientists, was to test the subject while not putting their lives in jeopardy. To solve this problem they built a Simulator, which would affectively test the affects that iPods have on driving awareness. This simulator was made out of the front half of a Nissan, which was hooked up to a Macintosh computer. This computer was then meant to give the subject as close to the real road as possible. The only thing that was a major problem was the fact that this was not true driving so it would be slightly off. However, this was the closest the researchers could get without putting the students life at risk. After this problem was solved they were able to concentrate on the study.
These scientists were sponsored through the National Science Foundation and the Office of Legal Research. These two groups wanted different information from this study. These two groups are studying driver distraction and human multitasking. From Salvucci's study, they found that the level of distraction is about the same as dialing a cell phone.
These days, Ipods are more synonymous with being a fashion statement. Even here at Drexel University, iPods have been integrated into the curriculum. The School of Education has decided to give every education major an iPod in the beginning of the year, and teach them how to work with the proper Apple software to create podcasts.
Who would have ever thought that we would be dependent on such as device, which can hold about not only music, but also movies, TV shows and news reports as well.
This new technology, however, has led this society to newfound problem. Many companies now, have adapted the iPod for use anywhere, in such things as the iTrip, or the Cassette Adapter, which easily allows the driver to plug into the stereo of the car. While we believe that it is very convenient, to use your iPod while driving, a recent study by Dario Salvucci, a Professor of Computer Science at Drexel University, has shown that it is just as dangerous to use your iPod while driving, as it is to dial a cell phone.
" We had an informal sense that iPods are used more and more in a car, and that there has been no official study done. What it does to drivers, so we wanted to get some baseline numbers for this study, " Salvucci said.
In this recent a research study Salvucci wanted to prove that using an iPod while driving distracts the driver to an extreme. Armed with a small team of researches consisting of two Drexel Undergraduate Seniors, Daniel Markley, Mark Zuber, and postdoctoral researcher Duncan P. Brumby, Salvucci started his research.
The number one obstacle faced by the scientists, was to test the subject while not putting their lives in jeopardy. To solve this problem they built a Simulator, which would affectively test the affects that iPods have on driving awareness. This simulator was made out of the front half of a Nissan, which was hooked up to a Macintosh computer. This computer was then meant to give the subject as close to the real road as possible. The only thing that was a major problem was the fact that this was not true driving so it would be slightly off. However, this was the closest the researchers could get without putting the students life at risk. After this problem was solved they were able to concentrate on the study.
These scientists were sponsored through the National Science Foundation and the Office of Legal Research. These two groups wanted different information from this study. These two groups are studying driver distraction and human multitasking. From Salvucci's study, they found that the level of distraction is about the same as dialing a cell phone.
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