• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Most Popular Car on TikTok isn’t a Car: 2022 Ford Maverick
  • Rivian Confirms Plans to Meet 25K Production Goal
  • Will Apple Achieve What Automakers Can’t?
  • Q&A: Tristan Murphy, Cadillac Lyriq Interior Design Manager
  • Sales Battle Royal Rages in Pickup Segment
  • Toyota is No. 3 — Third Automaker to Pass EV Tax Credit Threshold
  • Ford Gains Ground on Strong June Sales, Up 31.5% YOY
  • Q&A: Cadillac Lyriq Exterior Design Manager Josh Thurber
  • After 18% Sales Slide, Tesla No Longer World’s Best-Selling EV Brand
  • Get Updated on Cars, EVs and More with the Headlight News Podcast
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2022 Lexus NX 350h
    • A Week With: 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe Overland
    • A Week With: 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan SE R-Line Black
    • First Drive: 2023 Cadillac Lyriq
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford Bronco Everglades Edition
    • A Week With: 2022 Mazda3 2.5 S AWD Hatchback
    • First Drive: 2023 Honda HR-V
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford Bronco Raptor
    • A Week With: 2022 GMC Terrain AT4 AWD
    • A Week With: 2022 Cadillac Escalade Sport
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > Lexus Shows Impact of 4.6 Seconds on 4/6

        Lexus Shows Impact of 4.6 Seconds on 4/6

        Luxury brand highlights dangers of distracted driving.

        Jim Stickford , Contributing Editor
        April 06, 2021
        Lexus Driving Disrupted
        Lexus created a video, “Driving Disrupted,” that shows what happens when during the 4.6 seconds that occur when a driver reads a text.

        Lexus is looking to open some people’s eyes by taking away their view.

        Toyota’s luxury unit is the latest automaker to highlight the dangers of distracted driving during Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Lexus created a video showing the dangers of distracted driving.

        Established by the National Safety Council (NSC) more than 10 years ago, it gives safety advocates, federal regulators and automakers a chance to shine a light on the dangers of not being focused when behind the wheel. Lexus decided to show drivers what can happen when a driver texts or talks while holding a phone as they drive. In fact, it took them a little more than 4 seconds to show the potential impact — literally in most cases.

        “Lexus wants to bring awareness to safety behind the wheel by changing perceptions about texting and driving,” said Vinay Shahani, vice president of Lexus marketing. “Even the most advanced safety systems on the road today can’t replace the undivided attention of the driver.”

        4.6 seconds is a long time

        Lexus special NX 4.6
        Lexus outfitted its “special” NX 4.6 with electrochromic glass to prevent drivers from seeing while behind the wheel, simulating distracted driving.

        Transportation safety expert Alex Epstein noted that according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration when people check texts on their phones, their eyes are off the road for 4.6 seconds. To demonstrate just what that means to the average driver, Lexus set up an obstacle course for drivers to navigate in an otherwise empty parking lot.

        Participants in the exercise had stay within the cones that defined the course while avoiding styrofoam obstacles shaped like cyclists and deer, among other things. The drivers didn’t know Lexus outfitted the special NX 4.6 (for 4.6 seconds) with electrochromic glass for all the windows.

        Also called smart glass or dynamic glass, it is an electronically tintable glass that changes from clear to opaque instantly when activated. So at some point during the test drive, the glass was activated for 4.6 seconds so drivers and passengers could not see out of the vehicle.

        A vehicle travels the length of a football field in 4.6 seconds when it is traveling at 55 mph, Epstein said. Unsurprisingly, the drivers hit many of the styrofoam obstacles during those 4.6 seconds.

        Lexus Driving Disrupted distracted drivers
        Participants in Lexus’ “Driving Disrupted” video got first-hand experience driving while distracted.

        The demonstration of driving distracted really caught the attention of test drivers. Before the drive, they did admit to looking at their phones “for one or two seconds” at the most.

        After the demonstration, they vowed to keep their eyes on the road and not read or sent texts.

        Too many drivers don’t keep eyes on the road

        Both the NSC and AAA recently put out information detailing the dangers of distracted driving.

        “The frequency of drivers in the United States engaging in improper behavior is too high,” said David Yang, executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

        “While drivers acknowledge that certain activities behind the wheel — like texting, are dangerous, some do them anyway. We need to be aware of the serious consequences of engaging in these types of dangerous driving behavior and change course.”

        Lexus Driving Disrupted drivers panic
        The driver and passenger panic during the 4.6 seconds they can’t see while driving.

        The group’s most recent foundation’s annual Traffic Safety Culture Index, which highlights the gap between drivers’ attitudes and their reported behaviors, found that drivers perceive distracted, aggressive and impaired driving as dangerous.

        Yet many of them admit to engaging in at least one of these exact behaviors in the 30 days before the survey. The numbers were even higher for those involved in a recent crash, including:

        • 50% of those involved in a recent crash admit to talking on a hand-held device while driving in the past month vs. 42% not involved in a crash.
        • 43% of those involved in a recent crash admit to texting while driving in the past month vs. 27% not involved in a crash.
        • 39% of those involved in a recent crash admit to running a red light in the past month vs. 30% not involved in a crash.

        This data shows that people are not altering their behavior even when it has resulted in a crash. AAA pointed out that distracted driving often results in the same deadly consequences as drinking and driving.

        It found that “taking your eyes off of the road for just two seconds doubles your chances of being involved in a crash.” Those collisions have a wide range of repercussions, often more involved than the drivers realize.

        Recently Published
        2022 Ford Maverick Lariat

        Most Popular Car on TikTok isn’t a Car: 2022 Ford Maverick

        Yesterday
        2022 Rivian R1T - beauty shot

        Rivian Confirms Plans to Meet 25K Production Goal

        Yesterday

        Will Apple Achieve What Automakers Can’t?

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: