Infotainment systems are becoming ubiquitous in modern automobiles. Many newly manufactured cars, trucks, vans and other vehicles come with infotainment systems as a stock feature. And many people order infotainment systems as extras for the new vehicles that don’t offer them stock.
However, common infotainment systems have become in modern vehicles, they can be extremely dangerous. In addition to our own work as a law firm handling class action claims involving infotainment system, Forbes online lists infotainment systems as the technology to be avoided when buying a new vehicle, citing ongoing safety and performance concerns.
Safety issues with infotainment systems
Infotainment systems present several means of distraction, including:
- Inherent distractions: Even when they are perfectly functional with no user error involved, infotainment systems are inherently distracting. A large, multi-color screen in the middle of a vehicle’s dashboard, which involves driver focus on and sometimes multiple levels of menu diving is bound to create dangerous distractions.
- Malfunctions: To compound matters, many of these infotainment systems have been found to malfunction on occasion, requiring increased focus from the drivers. This creates extreme distraction and danger. In fact, we are currently handling two class action claims arising from safety issues in infotainment systems. We know from experience how dangerous these products can be for drivers.
- Input errors: In some cases, the infotainment technology itself is perfectly functional, but drivers will press the wrong button and enter confusing menus or cause unexpected results. This can demand increased concentration on the systems rather than on the road and on driver safety, increasing danger for everyone on the road.
When buying a new vehicle, you might want to consider avoiding infotainment systems. However, if you have already purchased a vehicle with an infotainment system, use caution and explore whether you could be eligible for compensation. Depending on what type and year vehicle you purchased, you could obtain compensation for the problems involved with the automobile’s infotainment system.