Shocker! Google Glass Distracts Drivers

Think you can safely text while driving with Google Glass? Think again.

A new study from the University of Central Florida found that Google's high-tech headpiece is a clear distraction to drivers. The study, conducted in cooperation with the Air Force Research Laboratory, offers the first scientific look at the effects of using Google Glass to text while operating a vehicle.

"Texting with either a smartphone or Glass will cause distraction and should be avoided while driving" UCF researcher Ben Sawyer said in a statement.

Sawyer and his team asked 40 twenty-somethings to drive in car simulator with either Glass or a smartphone, and then react to a vehicle slamming its breaks ahead. The researchers then compared reactions on each device to times when the participants were just driving without multitasking.

"Those using Glass were no better at hitting their brakes in time," the researchers found. On a more positive note, however, Glass users were able to regain control of their vehicle faster than smartphone users after a traffic incident.

"Glass did help drivers in our study recover more quickly," Sawyer said. "We hope that Glass points the way to technology that can help deliver information with minimal risk."

Still, Glass did not improve their response time to the event itself, he pointed out. Messaging with either device negatively impacted driving performance.

"Compared to those just driving, multitaskers reacted more slowly, preserved less headway during the brake event, and subsequently adopted greater following distances," Sawyer said.

The new research comes after a West Virginia state legislator last year introduced a bill that would ban the use of head-mounted gadgets while driving — a measure that was inspired by Google Glass. Several other states have since followed suit. The U.K. government has also been taking steps to ban Google Glass behind the wheel.

At the time, Google said it is "putting a lot of thought into the design of Glass because new technologies always raise new issues. We actually believe there is tremendous potential to improve safety on our roads and reduce accidents. As always, feedback is welcome."

For more, see PCMag's review of Google Glass and the slideshow above.