Visual-Manual NHTSA Driver Distraction Guidelines for Portable and Aftermarket Devices

This notice details the proposed contents of the second phase of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Driver Distraction Guidelines (Phase 2 Guidelines). The purpose of the Phase 2 Guidelines is to provide a safety framework for developers of portable and aftermarket electronic devices to use when developing visual-manual user interfaces for their systems. The Guidelines encourage innovative solutions such as pairing and Driver Mode that, when implemented, will reduce the potential for unsafe driver distraction by limiting the time a driver's eyes are off the road, while at the same time preserving the full functionality of these devices when they are not used while driving. Currently no safety guidelines exist for portable device technologies when they are used during a driving task. NHTSA seeks comments and suggestions to improve this proposal.