Transport Canada called GPS devices a threat to road safety in a 2003 report. (iStockphoto)

Transport Canada has identified the use of GPS devices as a threat to road safety but after six years of consultation with industry and safety groups has done nothing to regulate them, a CBC news investigation found.

There are no regulations despite the fact that the use of GPS devices, both built-in and portable, has grown exponentially since the federal department first considered the issue.

Several provinces, including Ontario and B.C., have brought in legislation to cut down on driver distraction and have made it illegal to program a GPS while a car is moving. According to Canadian statistics, driver distraction accounts for up to 50 per cent of car accidents.

"I think Transport Canada should regulate that these devices lock out the ability to enter information while they're in motion, and that would be followed by the manufacturers making that adjustment in their devices," said Alison Smiley, president of the Toronto-based engineering consulting firm Human Factors North Inc.

In 2003, GPS use in automobiles was in its infancy. However, Transport Canada recognized the devices were growing in popularity and wanted to understand the potential risks to drivers and assess the appetite for regulation, if any, among industry and the public.

Transport officials met with automotive manufacturers, industry groups and safety agencies. They conducted surveys and held focus groups.

'There appears to be insufficient effort on the part of the industry to manage the risk.'—Transport Canada report

Transport Canada concluded in its 2003 report that "in-vehicle telematics devices are a threat to road safety because they increase driver distraction and will cause an increase in distraction-related crashes."

Drivers failed 20-second test

The authors of the report noted that "the status quo may not be viable since there appears to be insufficient effort on the part of the industry to manage the risk."

Among the issues that industry groups and Transport Canada could not agree upon was the amount of time a driver should be expected to look away from the road while they programmed their GPS.

Industry proposed guidelines that a driver should be able to look away for two seconds at a time, for a total of 20 seconds.

Transport Canada disagreed, saying it would prefer a period closer to 15 seconds, but in 2005, it changed its position and wrote in another report that the 20-second rule was acceptable. The 20-second rule is now an industry standard, meaning that manufacturers design their GPS units with the idea that a person should be able to program it within 20 seconds.

One of the problems with voluntary guidelines is that people overestimate their ability to multi-task while driving, says Smiley.

"The problem is people are not very good at telling how long they've taken to lift their eyes off the road," she said.

In a recent episode of CBC-TV's Marketplace, several drivers were timed to see how how long it took them to enter a destination into their vehicle's portable GPS device. Although they were accustomed to using the gadgets, none was able to do it in less than 20 seconds.

In one case, the driver took 52 seconds to program a fairly simple destination. When asked how long he thought he took, he answered less than 20 seconds.

Manufacturers left to draft own guidelines

In its 2005 report, Transport Canada said it was negotiating a memorandum of understanding with automotive manufacturers that "would deal with the safety of in-vehicle telematics devices."

In the words of Transport Canada, the memorandum "would address safety concerns, be adaptive to continued technological advancement and not burden the industry unnecessarily."

But documents obtained by the CBC through access to information legislation show that in the end, no agreement with industry was reached.

In the meantime, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has come up with its own voluntary guidelines for the safe design of GPS devices. Some car manufacturers offer GPS systems that lock out the drivers from programming while the car is in motion; others don't. GM prevents programming a GPS while driving and offers voice-activation prompts for navigation instead.

"We looked at what's required to use that system, and we found that certain tasks, like entering a destination, are more difficult and should be done when a vehicle is stopped," said Tom O'Dell, GM Canada's manager of technical planning.

"As soon as I'm in motion, the screen dims, and I cannot enter a destination," he said, punching the screen with his finger and getting no response.

Transport Canada turned down CBC's request for an interview but in an email said it "recommends that drivers avoid using any device that may take their attention away from the road."

"The department encourages manufacturers to design devices that are compatible with safe driving," it wrote.

Interestingly, entire internet chat rooms are devoted to discussing ways to disable the technology that prevents a GPS from being programmed while the vehicle is in motion.