One of the main distractions these days when driving comes naturally from your mobile phone. Let’s face it, our lives revolve around the phone so much and we have been utterly dependent on it for a lot of our lives. Still, it is not an excuse to be texting and driving or worse yet, taking selfies while behind the wheel.
Nissan UK believes that perhaps they may have a solution, and they credit it to a century old technology, a Faraday cage. Built into the armrest of the Nissan Juke Crossover, when a user places their mobile phone into the armrest, it blocks out all phone signals, wifi and even Bluetooth. That way you are completely focused on driving.
Nissan is calling it the Nissan Signal Shield and once you cover the top of the armrest, the phone is in a “silent zone” where incoming and outgoing signals are all blocked. By opening the cover of the armrest, this would restore the signals on the mobile phone.
“Nissan produces some of the safest cars on the road today, but we are always looking at new ways to improve the wellbeing of our customers,” said Alex Smith, managing director, Nissan Motor GB Ltd. “Mobile phone use at the wheel is a growing concern across the automotive industry, and indeed society, particularly with the high number of “pushed” communications, such as texts, social media notifications and app alerts that tempt drivers to reach for their devices. The Nissan Signal Shield concept presents one possible solution for giving drivers the choice to remove all smartphone distractions while driving. This is about delivering more control at the wheel, not less. Some drivers are immune to the activity of their smartphone, but for those who struggle to ignore the beeps and pings, this concept provides a simple solution in this very “connected” world we live in.”
RAC road safety spokesman Pete Williams said: “Our research shows that handheld phone use by drivers has reached epidemic proportions. As mobile phone technology has advanced significantly, many people have become addicted to them. However, the use of a handheld phone when driving represents both a physical and mental distraction and it has been illegal since 2003. The Nissan Signal Shield is a good example of a technology that can help drivers be phone smart. For those who can’t avoid the temptation, this simple but pretty clever tech gives them a valuable mobile-free zone. We are asking all drivers to make a personal commitment not to use a handheld phone at the wheel by visiting BePhoneSmart.uk and sharing their promise with their friends and family.”
