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Existing automotive infotainment and telematics systems are increasingly feature-rich; they are simultaneously more densely packed with information and more complicated in terms of human-machine interactions. This complexity negatively impacts the situational awareness (SA) of the driver, and contributes to driver distraction. With the proliferation of tablets and smart phones, automotive mobile applications are growing in popularity; however, their content has been confined to a limited subset of vehicle information and control functions. Phone projection systems such as Apple CarPlay™ allow in-vehicle consumption of phone-based media but offer no improvement for the rest of connected vehicle features. The author proposes a content strategy to significantly reduce in-vehicle system complexity and elevate driver SA.

In this age of the Internet of Things, people expect in-vehicle interfaces to work just like a smartphone. Our understanding of the reality of in-vehicle interfaces is quite contrary to that. We review the fundamental principles and metrics for automotive visual-manual driver distraction guidelines. We note the rise in portable device usage in vehicles, and debunk the myth of increased crash risk when conversing on a wireless device. We advocate that portable electronic device makers such as Apple and Google should adopt driver distraction guidelines for application developers (whether for tethered or untethered device use in the vehicle). We present two design implications relevant to safe driving. First, the Rule of Platform Appropriateness: design with basic principles of ergonomics, and with driver's limited visual, manual and cognitive capacity, in mind. Second, the Rule of Simplicity: thoughtful reduction in the complexity of in-vehicle interfaces.